


Chameleon's Corruption

by RhysWilde



Category: Star Fox Series
Genre: Angst, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-03-21 10:02:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13738494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhysWilde/pseuds/RhysWilde
Summary: A story conceptualizing what made the twisted Leon Powalski into who he became and the events leading up to his fateful meet with the ever-alluring Wolf O'Donnell. Takes place in 8BLW.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This can be read in conjunction with my other story, Wolf's Weakness, or as a completely separate entity.

                Venom. As much as it should; try to not let the thick fog of pollution, poor weather and heavily militarized government scare you. While it’s true that it certainly doesn’t have the best reputation in the Lylat System it’s good to sometimes step back and put things into context. Contrary to popular belief; just like on any other planet the majority of Venom’s population live entirely normal lives, separated from the actions of their notorious leaders and serving the only community they know in whatever way they can. Grocers, chefs, farmers, doctors… Spend a day in one of the suburban districts and you might start mistaking it for any other town you could have grown up in. Keeping that in mind, however, it goes without saying that the reputation the planet has didn’t go unearned. The darker, less civil side of the society was something that couldn’t be ignored; especially if you were unfortunate enough to have been born into it.

                The cities in particular were large, overpopulated and unclean; the results of many years of both constant expansion and constant neglect. The biggest example of this was none other than the capital metropolis known as NuVenom; a massive, sprawling city that played the role of a central economic hub. There was a small percentage of the population that was rich enough to live in the lavish upper-tiers of NuVenom’s society but apart from them it served as a practical dumping ground for undesirables. The overpopulated streets were crowded with the homeless, criminals, low-wage workers and everybody else who couldn’t afford to move elsewhere. Needless to say that crime was rampant and the police were underfunded, it had been that way for so long that the populace had grown used to it.

                It wasn’t all dreary and depressing though. There was a certain charm that could be found buried under the layers of grime and for millions, this place was home. The nighttime aesthetic was uniquely unparalleled; neon signs, billboards and other advertisement-bearing screens lit up in bright colors all vying for your attention. No matter what time of day it was there were always ships coming and going as well as thousands of people bustling about in the streets. There was always _something_ happening and that was a particular kind of allure that one could only find in a degenerative, vice-filled city like this one.

                Leon Powalski’s story wasn’t much different from the stories that could be told for many of the orphans who lived on the streets of NuVenom. The household he was born into was poor and his parents irresponsible; both mother and father struggled to hold down any meaningful, long-term employment and would leave himself and his brother, Lars, on their lonesome for long stretches of time. Lars was only two years older than Leon but, still technically being the eldest, he was always the one to man up and take charge of things. Cooking, cleaning, shopping… At times he came across as more responsible than the people who were supposed to be raising him.

                Being so frequently abandoned unfortunately meant that committing to getting an education was a big struggle for the growing boys. The closest school was still too far away to walk and they didn’t have reliable transportation. That, coupled with the fact that they were mal-equipped to handle a normal school day, meant that even when they did find their way there they still weren’t known to get good marks. Their poor grades, unreliable schedule and lack of sociability all added together to culminate in both of the cold-blooded chameleons dropping out at depressingly young ages. But, keeping on the brighter side of things; they had a warm apartment to sleep in, enough food to get by and a working television. The necessities in the eyes of eleven and thirteen year olds.

                Tragically, however, even simple comforts such as those weren’t to last forever. When they were together the parents’ arguing was ceaseless, resulting in the times that they were away being stretched for longer and longer. It grew to a point where, secretly, Leon would wish that they would just leave him alone, that he could just be with Lars and didn’t have to worry about his parents anymore. Somebody, somewhere must have been listening because his wish came true. Eventually there came the day that everybody expected; Dad just didn’t come home. They waited, called around… Even talked to the police but, of course, that didn’t go anywhere. Mom’s mental state deteriorated as she scrambled trying to make ends meet but when it finally sunk in that the math simply wouldn't work out without him around, she took the easy way out; the traumatizing bang of a gunshot resonating from her room late one evening making it clear that Leon and Lars were now left all alone in this world. Despite his young age Leon’s older brother had already begun maturing and he proved it that night. Stories went around about what happened to kids who went to orphanages on this side of town so instead of letting fate decide what would happen to them next, Lars set aside his grief and sprung into action. That very same night he threw together some bags, grabbed his younger sibling by the hand and took him to the streets. He knew they’d be better off this way.

                As dreadful as that may all sound, Leon never really considered himself to be a ‘miserable’ creature and, in a twisted way, his ‘wish’ had come true. Sure he and his brother had to fend for themselves, living off of whatever they could get their hands on, but when he really thought about it never explicitly hated that. Somewhere deep down in his heart boiled resentment for the parents that failed him but that was outshone by the love and respect that he held for Lars. Lars was always the closest person that he had in his life and now they were on their own, fully reliant on each other. This newfound feeling of proximity was all he’d ever wanted. Even at such a young age, Leon’s tendencies to lionize those who took responsibility for him was obvious to any outsider looking in.

                To say that he idolized was an understatement. Leon was obsessed. Constantly looking up to his older brother and striving to be just like him, spending his days following closely in his footsteps in whatever ways he could. When it finally came time for him to learn the ropes so that he could help out, Leon’s passion for impressing Lars was so strong that he forced himself to excel. Intently he focused on his lessons and then rehearsed over and over until it was second nature to him. He’d stay up late days in a row practicing until he’d perfected what he was shown, honing his reflexes and dexterity to a sharpened edge. Given enough motivation, the potential that he had was apparent to anybody who’d seen him in action. It grew to the point where almost anything that could be concealed under a coat was fair game to steal and any fence standing in his way was fair game to hop. The debt that he felt he owed to his older brother could only be repaid by making him proud.

                Since they could never keep their hands out of the dirt the two brothers rarely stayed in the same place for very long. Sure there were times when they’d run into an influx of money and would treat themselves to a night in a hotel room, but those were few and far between. It was far more common for them to float from alleyway to alleyway, staying out of sight and living the developmental period of their lives with feet planted firmly on the pavement. That is, until they finally landed what you could call a steady source of income.

                Steady it was but honorable it was not, the young wandering chameleon boys got wrapped up in the local gang. Now a city like this housed a plethora of gangs and the one they joined wasn’t even close to the largest; but consistent work for consistent pay was a big step for them to take, even if it _was_ particularly nefarious work. Most initiates didn’t stay at the grunt level for long but being reptiles in a city of mammals, they didn’t get the same opportunities that the others would have gotten. At the bottom rung of the latter they’d be stuck, tasked with the same high-risk low-reward jobs over and over again. Because of the unparalleled nature of Leon’s abilities to stay out of sight and escape from sticky situations, more serious crime such as this resonated easily with him. His brother, however, was a different case. He tended to land himself in trouble and unfortunately, this was one of those times.

                In the brightly lit lobby of a police station a 24 year old chameleon solemnly resided, plopped down in a hard plastic chair and sighing as he took in the, unfortunately, familiar surroundings. He’d seen the inside of this place too many times for comfort. In fact, he’d spent so much time waiting in this exact same spot that he’d identified each progressive step of wilting on the potted plant left ignored over by the front door. His legs were spread apart with his curled tail resting between them and slowly he sunk down in the seat, three-fingered hands stuffed firmly in his pockets. It wasn’t the length of the wait that got to him, it was the embarrassment of being here in the first place.

                If felt like an eternity but eventually the door in the back of the station waiting room opened and a big, burly looking ape barged through. He was dressed in a police officer’s dark blue uniform and was dragging a familiar face along in tow. Leon immediately snapped to attention, craning his head to see if he could get a better view.

“Alright!” The cop yelled. He turned and fiddled about with the person behind him for a moment before the sound of unclasping handcuffs could be heard. “You’re free to go, punk. But I swear to god if I ever see your filthy green ass in here again there won’t BE a bail next time. You got that?” He stepped out of the way as he bellowed out his lecture, grabbing the bailee by his shoulder and pushing him out into the lobby. Leon could feel his cold heart racing as his brother’s face came into view; a couple nicks and scratches here and there but he seemed to be in one piece.

“Y-yeah, yes sir. I understand. Thank you.” Lars spoke timidly, waves of embarrassment crashing over him as he took the abuse directly in front of his younger sibling. Timid as they may be his words seemed satisfactory to the ape, who nodded with a grunt and disappeared back behind the same door he’d come though. As soon as he was sure that they were left alone Leon’s tail end shot out of its chair and he excitedly rushed across the room, both of his arms wrapped around his brother’s midsection as they collided with a force that caused the pair to stumble.

“You scare the hell out of me, Lars.”

“I-I’m sorry Leon.” The older sibling’s eyes were locked with the white tiles on the floor, sad tail drooping as he recovered his balance.

“If you really were sorry then you’d stop letting them catch you.” Leon’s embrace grew almost uncomfortably tight as he spoke, a hint of annoyance hidden somewhere behind his actions.

“I know! I know. It’s just- it’s a streak of bad luck you know? It’ll get better, I swear it.”

“Yeah it’d better…” The younger chameleon stepped off enough to look his older brother in the face, using a dexterous hand to trace over the boy’s new collection of cuts and scratches; Leon silently hoped that none of them would develop into scars. Lars already had enough of those. “Because I don’t think we have enough money to get you out again. You got roughed up good didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I don’t really want to talk about that. I’m fine.” Eye contact was difficult to make right now, Lars continued to stare at the ground and nervously shuffled his feet against each other. It was clear to him that their sibling roles had changed- now HE felt like the burden. This was the fourth time in the last few months that the police had scooped him up. He was older and as such he knew he had to set a better example than this, after all there was at least one person looking up to him. “I just- I really am sorry okay? This was just a big accident.” Leon’s head shook, he clicked his tongue soothingly.

“Don’t worry about that too much right now, I’m just glad I didn’t lose you this time. Are you sure that you’re okay? We don’t have any cash but I’m sure that Deckard would do us a favor, we can go-“

“No! No, Leon. Forget about me. I’m fine. I just want to get out of here, alright? I want to go home, I’m sick of this place.” The two stood in silence as Leon continued to run gentle fingers over the cuts, an equal mix of sadness and familial concern on his face. A moment of this passed before the younger one leaned in and gave his elder sibling a peck on the cheek.

“I’m sick of it too, let’s get out of here.”

                The walk back that ensued grew both long and tiresome; the station was only about a mile from the apartment complex they rented a room from but the weight of the events over the last twenty four hours weighed on the pair and dragged down down each step. Most of what they’d managed to put into their nest egg was gone after Lars’s last few romps with the police and while Leon was certainly grateful that his only family member was still here with him, it was tough to ignore the long road ahead to recoup their losses. On the other side of the fence the shame that the older chameleon felt was close to unbearable, being solely responsible for the majority of their problems as of late was a hefty burden to carry on one skinny pair of reptile shoulders. But carry it he had to, moodily shuffling alongside his brother all the way back to the place they called their home where there was always the comfort of their bed. It didn’t take long for them to wind up there either, in the same place they began most of their mornings. Lying side-by-side in their twin bed staring up at the patterns on the ceiling.

                This apartment wasn’t exactly brag-worthy but after getting adjusted to sleeping on the pavement and using old newspapers as pillows, it wasn’t hard to appreciate what little blessings they’d managed to scrounge together. Simple luxuries one might take for granted meant the world to them, running water and a working kitchen, it was tiny but that wasn’t what mattered. They didn’t have much to furnish the wooden floors outside of their bed, either. There were a few things strewn about; a dresser here, lamp there and a few other odds and ends but nothing that was particularly noteworthy. Preferring to live in the dark, the curtains were almost always drawn shut.

                It took a while to find somewhere that would take a pair of punks with no reputable employment or housing history, but if there’s a market for it there was always somebody in NuVenom willing to supply it. The caveat being the fact that they had to pay their rent in cash, on-time every single month. Normally that wasn’t an issue, they weren’t rich but they kept enough around to pay their stay. This month, however, might demand a bit more leeway if their savings were anything to go by.

“Did you want to talk about anything, Lars?” Leon’s inquiry broke their long standing silence, they hadn’t said much of a word to each other during or after the walk here.

“Not really.”

“Mm. I think we need to talk.” Slowly, he eased a dexterous hand up his sibling’s torso to give him a comforting touch. The lion in the room had to be addressed sooner rather than later. “You can’t get arrested again. You heard what the jailer told you.”

“He’s bluffing! You know their kind.”

“Even if he _wasn’t_ bluffing we have no money to bail you out again. There’s almost nothing left.” He turned his head, voice lowered so that his intensity was understood. “What do you think would happen to me if I lost you, brother?”

“You’re not going to lose me Leon! Just- you need to stop worrying about that stuff okay?”

“All I want to suggest, for your safety, is that maybe we should explore other options for you.”

“What’re you saying?” Lars replied in kind, turning his own head to make eye contact. His iris was the same shade of blue as his sibling’s, contrasting nicely with the green of his scales and the colored markings on his face. Leon took a deep breath, forcing his usually complacent demeanor aside.

“You’re old enough now that I was thinking; perhaps we can get you out of the gutters and into a real job. One that doesn’t involve running from the police every week.”

“…So that’s what this is all about.” Lars had an inkling of suspicion but didn’t think it would actually get to this point, hearing it confirmed was heartbreaking. The reptile let out a big sigh and sat up on his palms, pushing Leon’s hand off of him. “You just want me to quit, huh?” He always considered himself pretty okay at his craft but seeing how his brother flourished had planted a seed of insecurity. “After everything that we’ve done here, you just want me to give up on it. You think you’re better than me, don’t you?” His sibling didn’t have a rebuttal anymore, eyes sheepishly averting to another corner of their room. Lars scoffed. “Your silence says it all.”

“You can’t blame me for worrying for you. You’re the only family I have.”

“Just- just quit it Leon! This is weird. I don’t care how old we are now, you’re still my little brother and I’m the one who takes care of you, not the other way around. I’m not- I’m just not comfortable with this right now, alright?” Leon decided to push on that, his wit sensing an opportunity he could exploit to lighten the mood.

“Hmph, you seem to like it when I ‘ _take care_ ’ of you.” A sultry uptone in his voice accompanied his tease, a feint smirk forming in the corner of his mouth. Looking back towards his brother Leon was delighted to see how off-guard he’d caught him. The scales on Lars’ cheeks quickly flushed with color and he averted his gaze, aggressive posture slumping as he grew embarrassed at the suggestion.

“Hey, I… Just… I don’t know if I’m in the mood right now.”

“I’m playing with you.” As the number of years they’d been together grew, so did Leon’s emotional attachment to Lars. He was always one to push the boundaries of things to see what he could get away with and in doing so, ended up discovering _another_ way he could compensate his brother for his kindness. Lars never explicitly rejected the advances, but at the same time he never could quite grow past the taboo of it all and didn’t often reciprocate. No matter, Leon knew it wasn’t about him. “Let’s save tomorrow’s problems for tomorrow’s Powalskis. Forgive me for bringing it up.”

“…N-no. It’s… You’re fine.” He was still flustered but managed to speak through it, settling himself back down into their mattress again. A stressed sounding exhale came from his lungs as his curled, prehensile tail gripped at a corner of their bedding. “I’m going to make this all work out, you believe me right?” Leon’s smirk turned into a pleasant smile as he heard the words of renewed confidence.

“Yessir, I believe you.”


	2. Chapter 2

                Afternoon or no, no matter what time of day it was NuVenom’s sky was still as dank and dark as ever. Pollution was a real problem in the local atmosphere and it was very rare to get a good look at the sunlight, at most you would see a sickening reddish-green haze during peak daytime as the sun tried to force its way through layers of smog. The locals didn’t mind so much, however, seeing as how the majority of them had grown up here because no matter what there were always a plethora of vice-addled people who were out wandering the streets looking for a cheap way to intoxicate themselves. If you were running a successful business somewhere in the city, statistically speaking you’re probably the owner of a bar. Even the darkest, dingiest and most secluded of bars had their fair share of regulars and wouldn’t you know that the darkest, dingiest and most secluded bar is precisely where the two lone Powalskis would spend what few credits they didn’t care to save.

                The Brazen Vixen; a valiant name for such a dumpy little hovel. Only a block from their apartment complex and neatly tucked away down a thin flight of stairs well far off from the beaten path, it was quite the obscure location to seek out. But despite the unclear signage, odd placement and lack of atmosphere it still managed to pull in enough patronage to have been around for as long as Leon and Lars could remember. The regulars were antisocial as one would expect but most of them had been coming here for years so one way or another the faces were all familiar; everyone was at least vaguely aware that nobody in this place was going to cause trouble and that’s precisely how they liked to keep it. Only rarely would newcomers drop by and when they did, it was probably because they were already in the know. It was practically unheard of for somebody to just come in unannounced or without invitation.

                When they weren’t at home or out trying to scrounge together money, Leon and Lars could probably be found here; at the same table in the same corner they’d been sitting at ever since they were old enough to drink. Playful little knife etchings in the wood furnishings marked this domain as their own, two young men just trying to fulfill the natural desire to leave your mark on this world in any way possible. In fact, that’s what Leon was doing at this very moment. A discreet little switch blade held in one hand was twisted into the tabletop with precision as the elder sibling watched, swirling the froth around in his pint glass.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that.” Lars eventually spoke up, “You know I like that knife.”

“Oh but I’m drawing this one for you, consider it a gift.” The younger teased as he eased up on the etchings. The ‘gift’ he’d left behind were two “L”s with a plus sign between them encapsulated in a half-finished heart. He proudly looked down at his work.

“Looks a lot like all of the others you’ve drawn on here. Which ‘L’ stands for ‘Lars’? The first one or the second?”

“I’m leaving that bit up to your imagination.”

“Mm, elusive as usual. C’mon, give me the knife back.” He extended out his unfurled fingers and reluctantly Leon did as he was told, flipping the blade back into its handle and placing it in the awaiting palm. His brother wasn’t wrong, in a way it was kind of a special knife. It was the same one that had been used to leave a prominent, notable scar on Lars’s right cheek; stolen from their assailant after he was subdued with a rock brutally smashed against his noggin. With the memories themselves long in the past, the weapon and the mark it’d left behind served as daily reminders of what can happen out here when your guard is down.

“You’re no fun.”

“I’m just tired, Leon. It felt like we were out scrounging about in that alleyway for the entire morning.”

“That’s because we _were_.” The smaller of the two reminded, Lars let out a defeated sigh before taking a swig of his beer. Not much of a drinker, all Leon had on his side of the table was a glass of water and some crumbs left behind from what used to be a sandwich. “Didn’t you see the people start to look at us funny? We were looking around that area for longer than we should have.”

“Yeah but that’s because it HAD to be there. I remember it vividly; I rounded the corner after the 43rd street sign, ran past a big green dumpster and tossed it over behind it. Nobody saw me ditch it, I swear. Not even the cops- I mean where else could it have gone?”

“Anybody could have picked it up.” Leon sat up straight for once, arching his back into a stretch to try and get the blood flowing again; he’d been hearing this talk all morning and more of it was just exasperating. Besides, spending a good chunk of his day digging about in trash wasn’t a feat he was particularly proud of. “Alleyway dumpster or no there are easily over a dozen people who could have walked by there between when it happened and when we looked. Somebody probably found it. Maybe even a garbage man.”

“Yeah… I was just trying to stay hopeful though, you know? After all the trouble I’ve caused him I know that Zack’s going to kill me if I come back to him empty handed _again_. After all, last time this happened I promised that it wouldn’t happen again…” He looked down into his reflection in the drink, peering into his own nervous gaze. “At this rate maybe I do need to find something else I can do to make money.”

                He kept speaking, lamenting about the situation he’d put the two of them in but his voice faded from Leon’s immediate attention. Instead, the younger chameleon’s eyes had wandered off over his sibling’s shoulder and were staring directly at the person who’d just walked through the front door. It wasn’t uncommon to see people coming and going but this person was different, somebody the vigilant reptile had been making a point to keep close tabs on. A new guy, a stranger who’d just started showing up a few weeks back and didn’t seem like he knew anybody. It was in Leon’s nature to be on the lookout for trouble and one look at this man could tell you that he was the definition of it. He was a tall, unkempt looking canine with sharp, pointed features. His overgrown fur was grey in some places and white in others and every time he was here he was wearing the same long black jacket. Baggy to the point of making him difficult to size up it was something that wouldn’t be hard to conceal a gun under. The only other notable thing about him was the eyepatch strung around the left side of his head; everything else… Age, build, demeanor, were all too difficult to read. That said, anybody who was in tune with the streets could tell you that most dogs were up to no good. Leon wouldn’t be surprised if this one was more of the same.

                But just like any other day he’d shown his face he seemed to behave himself for now. Watched intently by the sly young chameleon, the canine did the same as he always did; walked straight up to the bar, flicked his matted, bushy tail out of the way and planted his rump down on a stool for a drink. Never talking and only rarely eating, he’d mostly just sit there sipping on ale and watching whatever the bartender had tuned in to on the television. Leon’s mild psychosis was obvious to anybody who’d spent some time around him; to the layman this would just be a normal fellow who’d found the place and dropped in for a drink after work but in his mind it could all just be an act. Carefully he looked for cracks; watching the kinds of drinks he’d order, the way he held his head, how he adjusted himself when standing… Just a little paranoia never hurt anybody too bad, right? By this point Lars had noticed his sibling staring off into space again, he quickly glanced around the room to try and spot what could be so captivating.

“What? What’s wrong? You see something I don’t?” The elder asked, speaking quietly to contain his voice to their table.

“Oh!” Leon snapped back to reality as he was addressed. “Sorry, nothing. It’s… It’s nothing. Just the new guy. He’s here again.”

“Which one? Are you talking about that eyepatch guy? The dog over at the bar?” Lars knew exactly who he was referring to, turning his head to look at the person of interest out of the corner of his vision. “What’s he up to? Something funny?

“I uhh… No, no I wouldn’t say so. Not yet at least. Just trying to be cautious, you know dogs and their ilk. Always sticking their noses into places they don’t-” His musings were suddenly interrupted as the three-fingered hand of his sibling grabbed him by the crown of his head and affectionately jostled him about.

“You gotta relax, little guy!” He snickered through grinning teeth, watching his brother try and resist. “He’s just a dude, let him do his thing. You’re gunna wear yourself out if you’re always acting so vigilant.”

“I know! I know! Let me go!” Leon’s voice carried a playful annoyance behind it.

“Fine.” Lars did as he was asked, another few chuckles escaped from his lips as he watched Leon’s mock ire dissipate. “We need to get out of here soon anyways, there’s no point in putting it off any longer.” Switching his attention back to his pint glass, Lars tipped the brim against his mouth and took the rest of the liquid down in an impressively large gulp. As soon as the last drop had been swallowed he slammed the mug back down on the table, collecting himself and letting out a quiet burp as everything settled. “…Alright, let’s get out of here. I think I’m tipsy enough to get yelled at now.”

                The warehouse where their gang’s closest meet up point was located was a few miles away but it was still walkable, which was good because the two brothers didn’t have any other forms of transportation at their disposal. If you knew where to look you could watch the transition of the tags the deeper into friendly territory that you went. The rival tags strewn on street signs and corners here and there were gradually replaced by the familiar ones used by members of the Powalski’s group FLAW, otherwise known as Fight Like a Wolf. Despite their catchy acronym and name they were pretty small when compared to the other gangs surrounding them. Their turf wasn’t the biggest and it didn’t encompass too many vital neighborhoods, but it was theirs and that made it important enough. Taking a shortcut or two through some alleyways, the pair eventually made it to the unlocked backdoor of where they were supposed to be. Ready to admit fault and face his punishment, Lars took a deep breath and pushed the unlocked door in.

“I don’t know why I expected any different from you.” It didn’t take long for things to heat up after the facts were all laid out. Lars’s assumption that he’d be in trouble was an understatement to say the least. “All you had to do was pick up the package from the dead drop and walk it back to me, it’s that simple. It’s so goddamn easy that I’ve got literal CHILDREN out there running these for me and you’re telling me that somehow your disgusting, underdeveloped, prehistoric brain can’t get it? How the HELL could you mess this up so badly?”

“I-I-I don’t know sir! I just-I think it might have been a set up you know? Somebody on their end could’a squealed because the cops were there when I showed up! Promise!” Lars himself knew this was a fold-faced lie, he wasn’t set up at all. But he didn’t really have any other options here. Truth was that in the heat of the moment, he’d forgotten where he was told it’d be hidden and spent far too much time snooping around trying to find it. According to the police, the owner of the lot ended up calling them over his suspicious activity. Admitting the truth here was as good as a death sentence, they’d never trust him with any work again. Not even Leon knew the full story.

“Set up? You’re messing with me- set up?! Is that REALLY the best excuse you got?!” His superior shouted in disbelief, the bubbling outrage bringing his voice dangerously close to cracking. While technically being smaller than the chameleons he shared the room with, the bandit-eyed raccoon they knew as Zack was still the man in charge of them. During the last year or so that the Powalskis had been working they’d grown to learn a thing or two about him but mostly that, much like the rest of the mammals on this godforsaken rock, he seemed to have something against reptiles. “Those guys are the most reliable suppliers we got, what they hell are you trying to pull saying that they ‘set you up’? They’re more reliable than YOU are.” A sharp finger was prodded into Lars’s gut to emphasize his point. “I swear to god you green-skins all sicken me. If we didn’t need manpower I swear to god I’d beat the shit out of you and make him watch.” He said, pointing over to Leon. “Everything about your kind is just awful. You’re skinny, you smell, you’re unreliable…”

                Leon was standing a good ten meters away on the other end of the warehouse, keeping his back turned and arms folded to try and stay out of the line of fire. He was spared of Zack’s ire but each insult still made him wince, the feeling of embarrassment coming second-hand. He and Lars came as a team so he couldn’t help but feel responsible in some way even though he wasn’t involved this time. In fact, Leon’s interactions with the gang were pretty cut and dry in comparison; he was given a task and a timeframe and without a hitch he’d complete it almost every time with no questions asked. His performance had grown to the point where others had started noticing, he’d even been asked about taking on some more important jobs that had higher payouts. Not wanting to leave his brother behind though, he’d always have to decline.

“I’m sorry, I really am I dunno I just- I mean the police didn’t get it, that means something right? I didn’t get charged with possession or anything like that!”

“You’d be going away for more than just possession if they found what was in that box, boy. You stupid idiot.” Zack let out a stressed huff before stepping away and pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He quickly shuffled one into his mouth and lit the end of it, taking in a drag to try and calm his nerves. “Your brother gets the picture so why the hell can’t you?” A cloud of smoke accompanied his words, “He’s fine at his job. It’s just you. There’s something wrong with you isn’t there? I mean look at you, face all scabbed up like that. You look pathetic. Like an animal. On one end of things I got this mess at the downtown building and then on the other, I’ve got your dumb ass messing up the most basic of jobs. I don’t have time for your _shit_ right now Lars.” Leon sensed a note that he could interrupt on, eager to stop this from escalating any further than it already had.

“Downtown building?” He asked from over his shoulder, blue eye peering back at the two. “What happened there?”

“What do you think? It’s the same as all the other ones.” Zack’s vocal tone changed as he switched gears, momentarily losing the aggression. He took another drag on his cigarette as he looked over to address Leon. “All we know is that when someone came in this morning the door was busted through and we got five guys all laid out with buckshot. Nothing else was touched, all these valuables laying out in plain sight and they don’t even take them...”  The raccoon anxiously scuffed at the floor once or twice with his boot. “You know, not many people using powder guns these days. Not everybody is used to seeing that kind of mess. It uhh… It leaves a lot of blood behind.” His stubby little ears drooped, “I mean we got our enemies just like anybody else but… But, look… That’s the kind of stuff for real men like me to worry about. All I need you to do is get your dumbass of a brother back in shape so that we don’t have this talk again ‘cause next time it’s not going to be so pretty. This piece of shit’s on his last warning, you got it?”

“Yes sir, thank you sir.”

“Now get the hell out of here, I’m sick of smelling you two.”

                Hardly needing to be told twice, Lars recollected whatever dignity that he could and quickly hurried over to the backdoor where Leon had been waiting for him, head hung in shame with his tail curled up tight. The two boys could hear Zack scoff and spit on the concrete floor as they left; the news they’d given him was clearly the last thing he needed to deal with but at the very least they’d gotten it out of the way, the metaphorical pill had been swallowed and now they were free to enjoy whatever was left of the evening. Leon watched as Lars let out a big, visible sigh into the brisk night air, the pair stepping back out into the alleyway that they’d entered from. The older sibling’s hands were shaking but that wasn’t because of the temperature. He stuffed one into his jacket’s pocket and started fishing around.

“I mean, I know I messed up bad but I was hoping he’d still give me at least something for the effort.” The elder said, sounding quite dejected. His hand found what it was looked for and pulled out a pack of smokes. It seemed to Leon like everybody in this city except for him was addicted to nicotine. Lars lit one up and took a short puff, trying to get his body to relax. “But I guess that’s wishful thinking. We’ll just have to figure something else out.”

“…Can I have one?” Leon asked. He always hated seeing such a pretty boy ruin himself with the stuff but at the same time had to admit that it was kind of attractive. Attractive in a dirty, romantic way.

“You know I don’t want you smoking these, Leon.” Lars looked at his sibling out of the corner of his eye, a little half-smirk peeking out through the otherwise depressed look on his face. “They’ll kill ya.”


	3. Chapter 3

                Desperate for money and hesitant about returning to their old ways of getting it, the Powalski brothers waited with bated breath for a call from Zack assigning them to another job. When they were first starting out the correspondence was frequent; he’d reach out once every few days when something new came up that he needed help with and the work, while dirty, was consistent. But as this stint of silence stretched from a couple days into over a week without so much as a peep, the fact that he was upset with them was pretty obvious. No work meant no pay and merciless as ever, the deadline for this month’s rent was right around the corner. Without any cash in the reserves they knew that outside of divine intervention, they wouldn’t be able to make it unless they did something soon. Missing just one month in a place like this could mean your eviction and after working so hard to get this roof over their heads, neither of them had any intentions of being out on the pavement any longer. So, knowing they had to produce something tangible as soon as possible, the two siblings reluctantly returned to doing what they did best.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Leon asked his brother. His blue eyes reflected the neon yellow light from the sign of the electronics retailer they were standing in front of. Leon himself had no problems with committing thievery, his concerns were mostly regarding the _other_ factor in this equation.

“I mean, three days and four hundred dollars in the hole… Unless you can think of a better idea this is going to be our best bet.” Lars replied.

“Mostly I just – I don’t want you to get in trouble again in case something happens. If you’d rather wait outside I can do this myself.” While he was reasonably confident in his own abilities, he did his best to politely offer his brother a way out. “I’m sure I’d be able to lift something good.”

“Oh don’t be like that, it’ll be more reliable if we work together. C’mon, there’s no reason to be worried. We used to do this kind of stuff all of the time, remember?”

“Oh I remember, it’s just-…”

“Well then what’re we standing around for? I just want to get this over with so we can go back to the Vixen. It’s freezing and miserable out here and I’m no more excited about this than you are.” Unfortunate for both of them, rain was pouring down from the sky this evening and beating down on the pair, collecting on the pavement in large puddles. Lars’s ability to knuckle down and get work done even in the face of adversity was always a trait that Leon found to be alluring. While he wanted to disagree, assert again that it’d be a better idea if he go in alone, it was clear that the elder had made up his mind. Any further conjecture would just be wasted breath.

“Mm. So we’re doing this like we used to then, correct? You distract the lackey they put up front and I’ll nab the goods.”

“No, no. I’m feeling good tonight so I wanted to switch it up, we can do it just like we used to way back when. Remember when you’d act like a lost child without their mommy and I’d do some sleight of hand while nobody was looking?” Leon wasn’t expecting that response. Ever since it became clear that he was better at staying off the radar they’d been doing it the same way since. Changing the formula in these circumstances just sounded like a bad idea. “It’ll be fun.”

“I… Don’t know about that Lars. Maybe we should-“

“What? Don’t trust me anymore huh?” He asserted. It was clear that tonight was about something more than just money to him. “You think I can do it, don’t you?”

“Oh it’s not that at all, of course you’re capable I’m just… You know how I worry.”

“There’s no reason to worry like that, it just gets in the way. All you gotta do is go in, talk to the guy or whatever and I’ll pass by when he’s not paying attention. I’ll grab something worth our time, walk out and whistle for you to follow. It’ll be five minutes tops and then we’re good for the rest of the month.” He moved up behind his sibling and held him by the shoulders, giving them a firm, attentive rub. “I can’t do this stuff alone you know. We’re a good team.”

                As staunch on his opinion as Leon was, Lars had a way of speaking and touching that were overwhelmingly charming. The younger chameleon knew that this was riskier than it needed to be but for just a moment those thoughts were thrust out of his mind. Four hundred dollars worth of fencible goods was a pretty high target amount but in a gesture of good will, he could certainly try to stay calm and trust him. Leon knew he was prone to paranoia and besides, both of them had stolen bigger things in the past and gotten away with it scot-free. There was definitely a chance that this could play out without a hitch.

“Alright, alright. Let’s just get in and get out, I don’t want us to be in there longer than we have to be. I’ll buy you time with the guard just… Move quickly, okay? You know I’m not the most sociable.”

“Don’t talk about yourself that way, you’re perfectly fine. I’ve seen you do this kind of thing hundreds of times before, you’re a pro. Go ahead whenever you’re ready, I’ll be a couple seconds behind you but I’m right here. Okay?” His words oozed reassurance in a way that made Leon feel warm despite his cold blood. He took a deep breath.

“Well… In that case I suppose I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. Wish me luck?”

“We don’t need luck, Leon. We’ve got skill and you know it. Go get ‘em.”

                With a steadfast pat on the back the younger of the two chameleons was sent to his duty, heading across the street over towards the store entrance as the possible ways that he could provide a distraction floated around in his mind. Conversation wasn’t his strong suit, no, but that was only one of the many ways that you could buy a loss prevention officer’s attention. They were commonly young and inexperienced, working in a field they don’t really care about so pulling a fast one on them wasn’t exactly a challenge. The bright, florescent lighting from inside bled through the glass panes and into the rain-slickened streets. There were people coming and going through the entryway and while there was something of a welcoming mat placed out just for this kind of weather, that didn’t stop residual droplets of water from dripping onto the proceeding tile floor. A quick thinker by species, by the time he was close enough to trigger the automatic door opening Leon had concocted the perfect idea.

                Stepping through the wide entryway, the deceiving young reptile gave the guard assigned to work the front podium a big, friendly smile accompanied with a wave in an effort to capture his attention. The man himself was another ape, this planet was full of them. He wasn’t so big though, a skinny but tall monkey dressed in a uniform that looked to be a size larger than what it needed to be. Leon’s gesture was acknowledged, eye contact was established and his smile was returned.

“Hello, welcome to-” The guard opened his mouth to let out a greeting but Leon gave him no time to finish that thought, as soon as he started speaking the chameleon put his plan into action. He planted the sole of his boot into a small puddle of water that had congregated on the tile and gave it a purposeful twist, forcing his balance off kilter and taking a convincing backwards tumble onto the floor. “Oh jeez,” The ape said. He was tentative at first, darting his head around to see if anybody was around but then rushed over to offer his help. “Hey, hey buddy are you okay?”

                Laid out on his side, a labored hiss escaped from between Leon’s clenched jaws as did his best to feign a painful injury. Obviously a person of his age, weight and muscle mass was completely fine taking a short fall of that nature but seeing as how somebody who only worked in loss prevention probably lacked the knowledge required to assess a medical situation, this could easily keep him occupied for a few minutes. The floored reptile twitched a couple times, letting out a labored moan.

“Oh man you took a hell of a spill, are you alright?” He was asked, the guard hunched over him to get a better look. It wasn’t likely that something like this happened very often and the ape’s anxiety was starting to show, that made it all the better. “Hey, can you hear me?” Opening his eyes, Leon caught a glimpse of a particularly familiar visage walking by behind them out of the corner of his vision. So far so good.

“Ah… Gods I think I might’ve hurt my leg…” He pleaded, writhing on the tiles as he reached down to clutch at his ankle. The guard’s skittish reaction to this reflected his lack of training, he swiveled his head for a second time to look for nearby help before grabbing the radio off of his belt loop.

“Hey can somebody come give me a hand at the front entrance? I’ve got a customer here who slipped on some water and might have hurt himself. It’s uhh… Male lizard, young looking?” Lizard? Did he really just say lizard? Leon had to suppress a scoff as he heard the generalization. That was like calling a wolf a dog, not many simple ‘lizards’ have curled tails or such elegantly colored head-scales. But regardless of his feelings on the matter he kept the act together, sucking air in between his teeth and letting out whimpers of exhales as he clung to his poor, hapless limb. The pair waited the next few minutes together as the loss prevention officer racked his brain trying to recall what he was told to do in these situations, thinking on his feet clearly wasn’t his strong suit.

“Can you like, move it? Or does it feel like it’s broken?”

“No… No it won’t move. It feels pretty bad.” The chameleon responded. He was elated that this was working as effectively as it was.

“Let’s get your shoe off then, maybe we can take a look together. If it’s bleeding we should-“

“NO.” Leon blurted out, the sudden change in demeanor startled the officer. He quickly tried to gather himself again. “I- uhh… If it’s broken then messing with it like that might make it worse.”

“…Yeah, yeah you’re probably right about that.” The oddly coherent reaction had him thinking twice. The ape took another glance around at his surroundings to see if the help he’d radioed for was anywhere nearby. “You here with anybody? Somebody I can call? Do you want me to like, get an ambulance or something?”

“No, no. That’s… That’s not necessary.” Quick to dismiss the gesture, Leon understood that the fewer people that were involved the better chances he had of getting away with it. He was only here for one goal and hopefully didn’t need to stick around for much longer. Shifting his orientation on the floor, the smaller of the reptile siblings splayed his legs out in front of himself. He moved carefully, trying to get into a better position for quickly picking himself up while not making his façade any easier to see through. Having been loosely counting the seconds, he guessed that around four to five minutes had already passed. Lars would need to finish up before another employee came along and complicated things.

“Well I called for help… Somebody should be here soon. Once I got another pair of hands we can try to carry you out of the way here, get you off the floor and put some ice on it. Does that sound okay?” Leon’s sharp eyes scanned the area as he was being spoken to, barely placing any of his focus on the words and being more concerned with where his brother was.

“Yeah… Yeah if you could do that that’d be great.” He absentmindedly replied. There he was; Lars, walking over from behind the guard with his hands stuffed in his jacket. He was shuffling along quickly and keeping his head down low, it was clear that he’d gotten something.

“Oh, here comes my-”

“Ah, you know I think I might be starting to feel better already.” Leon interjected before it went any further. He leaned back on his hands and started to rotate his supposedly broken ankle, looking down at it with feigned relief. “I think I might have just been experiencing a bit of a shock is all.” Lars walked right past them as he spoke, the guard didn’t look at all.

“Really? I was worried, you looked like you were in pain and-” But suddenly and unexpectedly his words were interrupted once more, this time by something that even gave Leon a scare. The RFID scanning towers surrounding the door immediately adjacent to the pair began blaring off a loud alarm, the lights at the top of them flashing red. Leon immediately jerked to attention, snapping his head over to Lars who was already looking straight at him. In that moment, the two exchanged one of the most startled looks that either had seen in quite a while. Somehow Leon knew this might happen.

“RUN LEON!”

                Nothing more needed to be said. With those words Lars turned and booked it through the open doors as fast as he could, he already had the goods so as long as he made it someplace far away this could still end up being a success. The guard looming over Leon’s body took on an entirely different demeanor, he’d already been a bit wary but two devious chameleons working together like this wasn’t unheard of for their kind. It took him a second as the connections were made, momentarily split between chasing down the one who’d just escaped or taking the easy pickings right in front of him. Fortunately for Leon that was just enough time to take advantage of. He grabbed the ape by the collar of his shirt and pushed him backwards, making space to turn tail and scramble back up to his feet.

“ **HEY!** ” He could hear the guard yell as he recovered his footing, “ **YOU GET THE HELL BACK HERE!** ” But it was too late, he was already out the door - the reptile’s green scales mingling with the cold, rainy night.

                Leon sprinted away from the store as fast as his legs would carry him, pushing through a small crowd and then forced to weave between oncoming traffic. As soon as he was confident that a sufficient amount of ground had been put between himself and the electronics store his sprint slowed down into a backwards walk, checking behind himself to make sure he wasn’t being followed. The brazen yellow sign was back on the other side of the road again and no pursuer in sight. The majority of low-rent loss prevention didn’t get paid enough to chase down petty thieves once they’d left the property so from what he could see, they’d gotten away with it again. A little feeling of satisfaction at their accomplishment warmed up his smile and he turned back around. Another step was down, now where had Lars run off to?

“ **LARS?** ” Leon yelled out into the crowd, hoping that his voice carried over the rain. Visibility alone was pretty low, it was too dark and most heads were shrouded by hoods or umbrellas.

“GOT YOU!” Somebody yelled from behind, but it wasn’t Lars. A pang of fear caused his heart to skip a beat, Leon cocked his head back over his shoulder but there wasn’t nearly enough time to react. Before he knew it the heavy weight of a body colliding with him had sent him straight down into the concrete sidewalk.

“LET GO OF ME!” The chameleon yelled. An arm wrapped its way around his chest from under his shoulder, trying to pin him in place as he clambered at the sidewalk. Despite being skinny and lithe in nature his efforts proved to be fruitless, the grip that had formed around him was too sturdy. But that didn’t spell the end of his escapades, Leon wasn’t one to go down without a fight.

“You’re not going anywhere you filthy punk, you thought you could pull one over on me like that?” There was no question left that this was the same guard. Not being a cop in any sense of the word he was far outside of his jurisdiction here but regardless his temperament flared on. With both Leon’s legs and torso bound in place by the ape throwing his weight on top of him, he still struggled in any way possible to try and wriggle free. Turning as much as he could, Leon tossed his right elbow back and ended up making a brutally precise connection with the ape’s face, bashing him square on the bridge of his nose. A yelp of pain rang out and the arm constricting his chest retracted as it went back to reactively grab at the fresh injury. This gave the young criminal just enough time to pull himself back up to his feet and dart off all over again.

                Down the sidewalk he fled, pushing his conditioned legs to move as fast as they could go while constantly looking back over his shoulder. That hit had bought a second or two but it didn’t take long for the monkey to be hot on his tail all over again, lagging a couple yards behind and shouting obscenities. Say what you will about somebody working as a security guard but this one was certainly a determined fellow, it was clear that this was more of a personal matter than it was a professional one. In an effort to remain elusive, Leon rounded a corner and then cut into a narrow side street once he was confident he was out of sight. Even if this didn’t work to lose his pursuer he figured he could at least buy an extra couple seconds of distance. That idea didn’t last long though, almost immediately Leon was confronted with the mistake he’d made. It was a dead end, walled off on the far side by a third building.

“Nowhere to run now, kid!” Angry words echoing between the brick walls caused Leon to turn around to see his pursuant. He’d already caught up, standing in the entryway of the alley while clutching at the wound on his face. The ape’s broken nose was dripping a stream of blood all over his shirt but that didn’t seem to be enough to stop his zealousness. The young chameleon frantically started looking close by for other options but only a few things stood out; a rock here, a sturdy looking stick over there, a trash can… Fighting wasn’t really Leon’s preferred method of dealing with his problems, he was too skinny for any kind of direct confrontation. No, there had to be something else…

“Just get on the ground now and we’ll make this easy.” More shouting as he was encroached upon but this time Leon barely paid it any mind, he was too preoccupied assessing what was to come next. Another option stood out to him now but he knew it was needlessly risky, one of those situations where it might be better to try and just fight. But up to this point his entire life had been risky so that wasn’t anything he wasn’t already accustomed to.

                With the ape quickly gaining ground on him Leon knew he’d have to act now or else face the consequences so, while still unsure of himself, he forced his half-baked plan into action. The chameleon abruptly shot out to his right, deftly sprinting at the wall before making an agile jump up on top of a protruding fuse box. His foot touched down on the flat top of it and, using the extra leverage, he pushed off again to make an impressive leap towards the building’s hanging fire escape ladder. With his chameleon arms desperately reaching out as high as they could, the swift reptile ended up with a three-fingered hand clasped securely around the lowest rung; a moment of triumphant success as his body momentarily swung from the suspended stairwell. His pursuant made a grab for a leg but Leon was too quick, retracting it up and using his upper body strength to climb up the rungs until he’d crawled onto the lowest platform.

                Newfound vigor raced through Leon’s heart as he realized what he’d just gotten away with, his lungs making excited gasps for air. He couldn’t help the wide grin that had spread across his lips as he looked down on his would-be assailant, safe on his perch fifteen feet high in the air. The ape refused to give up so easy, making a few impassioned jumps that all just barely seemed to fall short. Leon snickered deviously as he watched, it was clear that this man didn’t have what it would take.

“Aren’t your kind supposed to be tree-jumpers?” He taunted, sat atop of the ladder with his shins dangling down. “Or did that not run in your family?”

“Go to hell! You wily little shit.” A crude response, the annoyance was delicious. In a move of desperation the guard grabbed an empty can off of a nearby heap of trash and hucked it up at Leon. It missed, clanging off of the railing instead of connecting with the intended target.

“Why don’t you take me there?” The cocky chameleon replied, making well sure to relish in his accomplishment.

“Yeah? Stay right goddamn there and I will.” Forced to re-assess his approach to this problem, the ape temporarily ran off the same way he came. It seemed likely that he was going to go and try to get the building owner involved, a smart move but it would still give Leon ample time to make his escape.

                The worries of Lars’s safety had to be pushed to the back of his mind for now since getting out of here in one piece and without cuffs on was a far more pertinent issue. Being up on a stairwell like this there really were only two ways one could go, up or down. Going down would incur the risk of running into his uniformed friend again so… Up it would have to be, maybe the fire door would be unlocked or the roof accessible. Sneaking out after that would be easy. Leon let out a nice sigh of satisfaction as the endorphins that had been flooding his brain began to subside. Running from such a determined pursuant gave you quite the high and not much else could compare to the feeling of making a successful escape like this. Leon’s tingling nerve endings settled down and he began the ascent up the flights of stairs above him, walking around each platform and then taking each set two steps at a time. All things considered the building wasn’t the biggest, maybe seven or eight stories tall so getting to the top platform didn’t take that much effort. Once there, however, the next roadblock came into view. The safety door was one-way only. No handle on the outside.

                Leon pushed and bumped his hip into it a few times but the door didn’t budge in the least. There goes that option. Looking from here there didn’t appear to be easy access to the roof either, it was too high to clamber up to and there weren’t any footholds to aid in the process. Forced into thinking outside of the box again, the sharp chameleon took to scanning his surroundings once more to see if anything else stood out. He was hoping there’d be a window, anything like that… But no such luck. One path did present itself but it wasn’t exactly a favorable one. A pipe, crawling up the wall on the building adjacent to his own. It looked sturdy enough and it ran all the way up to the roof… But at the same time it was maybe twelve feet away and a fall from this height was almost guaranteed to be fatal. But time being of the essence, it was either risk this or possibly go home in custody. After the last feat Leon trusted his own skills more than he did the alternative.

                He stepped back to make as much room as he could, going so far as to push his curled tail flat against the door but it was still only barely enough. Testing the waters once or twice the chameleon carefully counted the number of steps he could take before having to jump. It wasn’t looking good but waiting around wasn’t going to make it any better either. Leon had to psyche himself up for a moment, shaking out his hands and bouncing on his toes to get limber; then without further delay, he took off. The reptile’s boots slammed against the grated steel floor as he gained as much speed as possible in such a limited area and then in one dexterous movement, hopped one leg up onto the railing and bounded off of it, hurling his entire mass across the alleyway with as much force as he could muster. His arms outstretched and made frenzied grasps for anything that would support him, desperately reaching as far as they could until finally, by some divine chance, they found what they were looking for.

                Leon’s body slammed against the wall but his hand securely grasped the wet metal pipe and stopped him from falling. The rust was a double edged sword; on one end it gave him grip in spite of the torrential downpour of rain but at the same time the rough, abrasive surface made short work of the scales making up his palms. They were sure to be bleeding but the amount of adrenaline pumping through him blocked off the pain receptors for now. The hapless chameleon hung as he tried to find his footing before his arm gave way, boots scratching at the wall until they finally settled their weight against some jagged bricks. Leon knew he was in a vulnerable position but there was no time to look down now, he could feel his strength rapidly draining and he’d come too far to succumb to the world here. The good news was the climbing was one of the things his species did best.

                Secure in his mounting he slowly started the upwards climb, carefully putting one hand over the other and doing his best to not disturb the weight distribution in fear of pulling the whole creaky thing off the wall. The eight feet ascent to the top felt more like twenty as each second stretched onwards but with fierce determination, it wasn’t long at all before the crown of Leon’s head poked out from over the lip of the rooftop. With his sharp little teeth gritted together tight he grunted and strained the last of his muscles to push his upper body over the side, worming and sidling his way up until both legs could be swung up and onto safety. The feeling of sturdy ground under him once more was elating and he rolled onto his back, splaying out on the flat, concrete rooftop.

                The chameleon’s lips curled into a wide, psychotic smile - chest heaving in exhaustion as he stared directly up into the falling rain. He always believed himself to be capable but this whole night was something else, a hell of a lot more than just hopping a fence or climbing a lamp post. He felt unstoppable, capable of doing anything as a surge of confidence tingled throughout each nerve. Of course, after he’d camped out for a sufficient amount of time getting down would have to be the next step, but this building looked residential enough. There was more than likely to be some kind of open roof access that could be taken when he was good and ready. For now though? All Leon could do was laugh. Laugh and revel in what he’d accomplished this evening. Maybe they didn’t need luck after all.


	4. Chapter 4

                It was yet another late night and for cities like NuVenom that was precisely when the more degenerative of the society would have their fun. Gangs, thieves, junkies; the dark, cold evenings were reserved for them. But something about tonight was different, where one might normally hear the sounds of shouting or cars peeling out in the street, instead there was nothing. It was uncharacteristically quiet, only rushing winds and infrequent droplets of rain breaking up the otherwise deafening silence. For once everything seemed surprisingly peaceful, but there was one element that stood out among the rest. The orange-red cherry of a half-burned cigarette in the cabin of a vehicle that had been parked on the side of the road. To the untrained eye this was almost invisible but a more sharp-minded species might even have been able to go so far as to spot two visages residing in the front seats, carefully observing a building from a distance.

“You sure you wanna go through with this man? I dunno, I just dunno about this one. I got some kinda bad feeling, you know?” One spoke to the other. He was a squirrely looking canid, some kind of hyena with badly matted fur and loose clothing that was sitting on the driver’s side. His hands were white-knuckled on the steering wheel.

“Don’t worry about me, that’s my responsibility. The only thing you should be worried about is driving.”

“Yeah but like, what if I don’t WANT to do this? I mean, you know I respect you but I gotta be honest- you got lucky the last few times. There’s no way they won’t be expecting it this time. Those guys, they’re probably all strapped now, yeah?” His energy levels were clearly too high. Perhaps that’s just what you needed to make it as a driver.

“There’s no such thing as ‘luck’ in this business, we make our own luck and the last thing I need right now is you doubting my abilities.” He paused his sentence to take a drag on his cigarette. Tensions were high all around but one party seemed to be better at suppressing it than the other. “If you’re going to tuck tail and run like a coward, at least do me a favor and get it over with now so I can come back tomorrow with a better driver. Because I swear if I find that you’ve bailed on me while I’m busy taking care of business in there, I’ll personally see to it that your pretty little snout is clawed beyond all recognition.” Harsh disobedience deserved equally harsh treatment but it was impossible to tell what shut the driver up more; the threat hurled at him or the fact that the angry stare he’d been receiving had the strength to bore a hole through a brick wall. For something like this to go on there had to be crystal clear understanding between everybody involved. “Are we on the same page now?” There was a subtle nod in reply.

“Look, I get you and I’m here - I’m not tryin’ to step on your toes or nothin’ but all I’m sayin’ is that if you’re not back here in ten minutes, I’m getting the hell out. I know we’re both just tryin’ to get paid but I gotta look out for myself too you know?”

“You think this’ll take me ten minutes?” A shotgun was unceremoniously produced from underneath the passenger-side car seat, at the same time the glove box was dropped open and a half-empty box of shells rattled into view. There weren’t many left but it was still more than enough to finish this job, a handful of them were snatched up and one-by-one they were loaded into the weapon’s magazine. The shotgun itself was rather old looking but that was par for the course when it came to powder guns, they weren’t popular so companies simply didn’t make them. There were too many caveats to using one; they were less accurate than a laser or plasma gun, required that you purchase expensive and hard to come by ammunition, had to be manually reloaded, had to be cleaned and maintained but even with all that, the mechanical nature of them meant that it could still jam. Most modern weapons had fixed all of those problems, not only easier to use but cheaper too. But still, that didn’t prevent a select few from favoring the old-school style of firearms because even despite all of those problems you might run into, the power that a bullet packed was still far greater than anything an energy-based gun could deliver.

                There was room for six cartridges to be loaded into the magazine before the seventh was slotted directly into the receiver, the few shells that were left over were tossed into his pocket as a security measure but he knew there likely wouldn’t be any time to reload once inside. With no intention of putting it off any further the passenger door opened wide and one strong boot stepped out, the shotgun being lugged behind clattering against the frame of the vehicle. Smoked down to the filter, he took the remnants of the cigarette out of the corner of his maw and flicked it into the driver’s lap. A little bit of power play never hurt anybody too bad.

“Start the timer.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Oh come on! Whaddya mean only $300?” Lars shouted in disbelief. Fortunately for him outside of Leon and the pawn shop appraiser he was pleading to, nobody else was around to hear his whining. “That’s an $800 communicator, straight up. The thing’s brand new even, look it’s got the plastic and stuff!”

“You think I don’t know your kind? You green-skins are all a bunch of sneaky bastards, no doubt in my mind that you and your boyfriend over there stole it, didn’t ya?” That comment was meant to be insulting but it caused a smirk to form on Leon’s face. Not all stereotypes were inaccurate. “If you got this legit then you wouldn’t be taking it to me. No, $300 is all I can do. I mean these things ain’t easy to launder, I gotta get a new serial on it, make sure it can’t be tracked… It’s not as easy as just selling it again you know. So you got my offer, take it or leave it.” The snout-nosed boar clerk here drove a hard bargain. This was one of the few places in the city that took stolen goods and he played that to his advantage. It wasn’t the first time they’d fenced to him but he was normally a bit more generous. Times either became desperate or he wised up.

“Look,” Lars, feeling the desperation sink in, leaned over the counter on his palms and looked the man right in his dark brown eyes. “We need $400 for rent and that rent is due in like, two days. That’s why we brought this to you, we might get evicted if we don’t make this payment and then me and my brother here? We’re out living on the _streets_. Can you please just like, cut us a deal or something? Please don’t make me beg you.” The large boar sighed, he’d heard many a sob story in his time. This one wasn’t anything special.

“I’m not running a charity here, kid. I can’t just give you $100 for free. I’m doing you a favor as it is takin’ it out of your hands at all. Not many fences around these parts and really, with these new communicators, they’re more of a chore than they’re really worth. I gotta call some guys, get some work done… So you can take the $300 now but if you waste any more of my air I’m dropping it to $250.”

“But-!” Before this could go on any further Leon stopped his older sibling with a soft hand placed on his shoulder, his palm wrapped in bandage tape serving as a reminder of last night’s escapades. Lars stopped talking and looked over.

“Let’s just take his offer and go.” The younger suggested. He knew that haggling with a steadfast man like this was a lost cause. They’d be better off using their time more productively. “We’ll just find another way to get that money.”

“Yeah but-”

“You should probably listen to ‘em.” The boar interjected this time. “Because I got other things to do here and you’re testing my patience.” Lars huffed, looking between the two others with condemnation in his eyes.

“…Fine.” He settled, tossing the box across the counter. The $300 he was owed was slid over with almost a sense of elation. It wasn’t clear yet if they’d just been ripped off or not.

“Pleasure doin’ business with ya.” The appraiser said, grabbing his brand new communicator and turning around to signify that their interaction was done. Lars couldn’t help but stand there with Leon holding his arm as everything seeped in, he had an unshakable feeling that everything was just going against him these days. Life had dealt he and his brother an unfair hand but things had been looking up for the last few weeks leading up to this, something here felt like it just wasn’t meant to be – like some higher power was deciding to punish him for some unknown slight. But alas, with enough willpower he forced himself to swallow his pride yet again so that they could be on their way, the bell on the door making a friendly jingle as they departed.

“I still meant what I said last week, Leon.” He spoke as he pulled out his cigarettes again, lighting one up as soon as they were outside. “I’m _going_ to make this work. We’ll come up with another way to make some more money.” Trying to look on the bright side for once, he followed up, “And now we’re $300 richer than we were yesterday. So that’s something, right?”

“I believe you.” His confidence made a little smile shine through on Leon’s otherwise dour face. The younger chameleon stepped up on the tips of his toes to give Lars an affectionate peck on the crown of his head. “We’ve gotten through hard times before, this is nothing different. At the end of the day, at least we still have each other.”

                But then, as if by some kind of divine intervention, their own communicator rang. The Powalskis looked at each other in disbelief, perhaps this was sent as some kind of apology from whatever power that had been toying with them. But no, it couldn’t be. The timing was far too perfect. Either way, the elder of the two pulled it out of his pocket to check who was trying to reach out to them and a familiar four lettered name graced the screen. Zack.

“H-hey!” Lars blurted out as soon as he’d answered the call, his nervous excitement was palpable. “Zack! What’s up man?”

“Spare me the pleasantries. You got Leon there with you?”

“Oh uhh, yeah. Yeah he’s here. Did you want to talk to him?”

“No need, just wanted to make sure you both got the message. Look I don’t got much time to chat, something’s happened and it’s bad. And I mean like, really bad. I need you and your brother to get your curled tails down to the usual meet up place as soon as possible.”

“What like, now? You want to see us today?”

“No I want to see you YESTERDAY, Lars. Get the hell down here and make sure you’re packing something, none of us should be going anywhere without a weapon right now. Okay?

“Yeah I- I guess we can do that. Is everything okay right now? Is there something we need to know?”

“Everything is most certainly NOT okay and I definitely wouldn’t be calling you if it was. No more questions, just get over here.” And just like that, those words spelled the apparent end of their conversation as the line was abruptly cut. The elder reptile locked eyes with his brother as he stuffed the device back into his jacket, looking at him with concerned intrigue.

“He sounded desperate, but he wants to see us right away. Maybe there’s some work we can do after all.”

                Regardless of the urgency of the request running around a city like this with money in your pocket wasn’t a good idea, so the duo had to take a detour back home to drop off their ill-gotten gains before beginning the trek. While it was recommended to stay armed neither Leon nor Lars owned much in the way of weaponry outside of their switchblade. They never really needed to, all things considered. Assault and battery weren’t really their style of doing things but that aside, the elder sibling spent the entire walk over keeping at least one finger on the grip of his knife. Fortunately for him though the only conflict they encountered on the way down was that of curiosity, they’d never been called upon for an emergency before and feigned to imagine what could be so important that they’d need to be involved. Not that it was anything to complain about though, something like this spelled out a quick way to get paid.

                But as they rounded the final corner and ducked into the alleyway that they normally entered the warehouse from, the realization that this was an entirely different beast than what either was anticipating made itself apparent. Both of them figured it was probably something minor, maybe a deal that went south or somebody notable getting picked up by the police for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but no. The steel back door joining the building and the alley had been shot wide open, a massive gap in the metal where the lock and handle used to be with small holes encircling it. It looked reminiscent of buckshot. Leon and Lars locked eyes as the older of the two flicked out the blade of his knife with a click.

“Stay close behind me buddy, alright?”

“Always.”

                Hold each other hand-in-hand to ensure they couldn’t be split, the two pushed through what remained of the door and stepped into the back of the loading bay, Lars first with his weapon at the ready with Leon close on his heels. One glance around at this place was all one needed to have a good understanding of what went down. It was a complete mess all over, something terrible had happened here and it left what resembled a nightmare in its wake. Blood, there was a lot of blood. Smears of it left on the concrete floors and flecks liberally painted all over parts of the walls. There were fresh remnants of conflict littered all over but despite the newly formed buckshot holes and scorch markings decorating the interior, it seemed any corpses that may have been here were moved someplace else. The sickening stench of death still lingered in the air.

“What the hell happened here...?” Lars asked rhetorically under his breath, taking slow steps with his knife front and eyes carefully scanning the room. A simple knife more than likely wouldn’t be enough to stop whatever force that caused this, but brandishing it still made him feel more comfortable.

“Hey! You two finally decided to show up.” A familiar voice yelled at them from the furthest side of the room, it was Zack standing in the open doorway to the building’s front office. “Put that pig-sticker away. I know there’s a lot to take in but get in the office with the rest of us, c’mon.” The two siblings looked at each other again for reassurance before the elder folded his blade back down one-handed. Hopefully there was an explanation for this.

“Look, I know you guys probably got a lot of questions and quite frankly, the answers we got aren’t many.” The stubborn raccoon spoke as he ushered the siblings into his office and closed the door behind them. There were a couple others loitering around in the room already, members of the gang sourced from the surrounding area. There were a lot of species that lived around these parts but the majority of the members of FLAW were canines and primates, the two dominate genera on this side of the solar system. They were usually a rowdy looking bunch but today the tone was much more foreboding, eyes averted and feet scuffing at the floors.

“What happened out there? Are we all okay?” Lars was quick to ask as he and Leon sat themselves halfway on the edge of Zack’s desk, all of the other seats in the room were taken.

“Honestly? I don’t know if we’re okay.” Their superior replied through a stressed breath, “We should have been more prepared for this but I just figured, like we’re pretty small in these streets you know? We don’t make enemies around here.”

“What’re you talking about? Who the hell made that mess outside?”

“Lars if I knew exactly who did that I wouldn’t have called you all in here, we would have taken care of it by now.” His tail was unusually still, there was definitely a serious problem that needed to be addressed if his mannerisms were anything to go by. “I got no doubts in my mind that the assholes who did this are the same assholes who raided the downtown place just last week too. Well – I guess ass _hole_ would be the correct term.”

“Asshole? Like, one singular asshole?” Leon asked, using his own terminology back at him purely for clarity’s sake. He craned his head to look out of the office’s sole window and back into the loading bay, if he understood the inflection correctly then the implication was that this was the work of just one man. But there was no way that was possible, all of this blood couldn’t be the result of just a single animal.

“That’s what I said isn’t it? **One**.” Leon felt a pang of mixed emotions shoot through him; on one hand the act itself was more than a simple threat, it was a clear declaration of war. On the other, it was also an incredibly impressive feat for a sole gunman to accomplish. “I know, I was surprised too. I would have guessed in like the three or four range but Kev here actually lived to tell the tale.” He pointed a sharp, black-furred finger over to one of the others standing silently in the room. Leon didn’t recognize his face. He was a coyote looking fellow but was a bit bigger than a normal yote tended to be, probably some kind of mutt much like a lot of the dogs in society’s underbelly. He didn’t seem to have it all together, he was trembling and rubbing at his shoulder as his glazed-over eyes stared into the ground. “Kev, did you want to tell them what you saw? We all need to be in the know here, even these guys.”

“I-I… Yeah. I saw it- or I saw something. It was just all really quick.” His words were unsure, he clearly wasn’t interested in elaborating on it all over again. Who knows how many times he’d told the story already. “There we were, me and five others just hangin’ out and sorting the new goods when there was this like, explosion in the back door. The dude, this guy just rushed in and no hesitation just started to lay us out. He went crazy, like he wasn’t afraid of nothin’. Had a shotgun, an old-school one with the shells you put in it? Indoors like this you wouldn’t believe how loud those are, I think my ears is still ringin’.” His ear flicked and he rubbed at it, trying unsuccessfully to soothe the feeling. “But he just shoots and shoots, takes us down one after another before we even got time to do anything, running from left to right around the room and stayin’ behind the boxes. I mean, some of us tried to draw our guns and take shots but we’re all stunned so it’s not easy. Just thirty seconds ago we’re minding our own business like usual and then this dude just breaks in! Half of us are still thinkin’ it’s a bad dream or something. But finally it’s my turn, he points the gun at me from across the bay and takes a shot but wouldn’t you know that he missed. So I pulled my trigger and bam, hit ‘em square in the arm. Even he seemed surprised about that and instead of stayin’ to fight me he just ran, ran right back out through the same door he came in from.” His quivering nose and drooping whiskers were all one needed to see to tell that he wasn’t embellishing the truth, a man like this wasn’t shaken so easily.

“Yeah yeah, tell ‘em what you told us about his looks though.” Zack pushed.

“I mean, I couldn’t get a good look but he was definitely another dog. Kinda tall I guess, maybe like my height but he was all hunched over. He had a dark coat on and a bandana over his muzz but I did see that he only had the one eye, the other was covered by somethin’ so I assume that it was out. He also had this big long, messy tail. Kinda blue-grey with white on the tip. That’s… That’s kinda all I could make out though.

                The further into the descriptor he went the more obvious it was to the siblings that they might know who was being referred to. They looked at each other with expressions indicative that they were both thinking the same thing, but it was too convenient. Nothing ever fell into their lap like this. Lars opened his mouth to say something on the matter but Leon placed a commanding hand on his thigh, inferring that it might be better to stay quiet and keep this information close to their chest. Lars swallowed his words.

“But that’s enough. We’re looking for a one-eyed dog with bluish-grey fur and a white tip on his tail. Might be kinda tall. There can’t be that many, right? Even in a place this big.”

“Well what could you possibly expect us to do about it?” Leon asked, keeping a flat vocal tone. “Just… Look out for him?”

“I don’t wanna say that we’re desperate, but what I will say is that this?” Zack pointed out the window. “This has to stop. I know it’s a long shot but we need ALL of you to be on the lookout here, if not just for us but for yourselves as well. Info, details, anything you know or see? We need. We’re putting ten grand on his head, that alone should show you how serious we are about this. But that’s all I really had to say, we need to get to cleaning up this shit so stay and help or get the hell out.”

                Staying and helping would have bought them much-needed favor with the boss but with this fresh information out in the air, Lars was far more interested in getting a head start on making a move instead. He grabbed his brother by the arm and promptly led him to take their leave before they ended up roped into scrubbing blood and god-knows what else off of the walls. What happened here was a travesty but perhaps there was an opportunity to be made of it yet.

“Gods, what a bloodbath.” Lars spoke a final musing as they passed through it all again on their way out. The sights and smells were enough to make somebody with a weaker stomach retch. Thankfully the corpses had been moved already.

“An awfully impressive one if you think about it.” On the other side of the coin, Leon couldn’t take his eyes off of it. It was a disgusting display to be sure but there was a certain fascination hidden behind such a violent act of brutality. Almost a passion that couldn’t be ignored. No normal man could do this.

“Leon these were our guys. You’re aware of that, right?”

“You’re right. Sorry.” He forced himself to snap-to, picking up the pace to catch up with his brother. As soon as they were close together again Lars turned to him with a half-smirk on his lips.

“You know what we have to do now, right?”

“I do.”


	5. Chapter 5

                No matter what was happening on the outside, not much changed inside the Brazen Vixen. Same food, same drinks and the same customers coming by every night. But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, not in the least. In a city that was constantly moving, so prone to conflict and change, some were able to find solstice in its stability. In some ways this dingy little pub represented a much-needed constant in the lives of the animals who became regulars, likely one of the few constants that they had.

“So you think he’s gunna come in?” Lars wondered out loud. This was probably the third time he’d asked that very same question since they’d taken seat at their table, the suspense was doing a number on him. At least twenty four hours had passed since the bounty was placed on this murderous canine’s head and the two Powlaskis spent the majority of that time plotting out what they intended on doing next. As always, Lars was the more animated of the pair. $10,000 was a lot of money to be in discussions with, far more than he’d ever seen in his life and if this all played right it had fallen right into their laps. Leon on the other hand was trying to stay enigmatic, preferring to let his brother take the reins for now.

“If he was injured like we were told…” Leon replied, recalling what the shaken yote had gone over. “Then he very well might be someplace else, I don’t think I’d have much time for drinking after taking a shot to the arm. But who knows, maybe he’s stubborn.”

“Well let’s try to stay optimistic.” Their financial troubles were still at the forefront of their problems but whenever they’d come around here Lars would still try and pick up a pint of whatever was cheapest on tap. Keeping on the owner’s good side was imperative since it gave him a reason to not kick them out for loitering, not to mention damaging the table. He put the rim to his thin, reptilian lips and took an anxious sip. “We need to like, come up with some kind of sign you can use to tell me what you think while you’re talking to him. Like if he’s the right guy or not.” Leon nodded in agreement, that actually wasn’t a bad idea. When they set out to do this he knew it’d have to get done right so when the question arose of which one the two would do the talking, he immediately volunteered. The only uncertainty now was how ‘on-script’ he intended to be. Leon had some thoughts of his own that had been eating away at him.

                It was a strange feeling but ever since walking in on that gruesome scene in the loading bay yesterday afternoon Leon hadn’t been able to get it out of his mind. Every minute detail stayed fresh in his memory; the sights, the smells… What he’d seen was nothing short of repulsive but at the same time it was absolutely captivating, much more now that he knew that one man had managed to do it without help. The younger chameleon had been around crime his entire life but it never elevated far above anything petty - believe it or not this was his first direct, in-person experience with something as serious as murder and his mind couldn’t help but romanticize it in a way. Not normally one with a penchant for raw violence, the dream he’d experienced last night where _he_ was the gunman was surprising even to him. Not even his tricky escape from the loss prevention officer a few days back could compare to the level of excitement that dream caused.

“How about this; when I’ve got a bead on him I’ll let you know by holding up two fingers for ‘yes’ and three for ‘no’.” He raised a hand, palm still wrapped in bandage tape. Two fingers and then three were held up, demonstrating both of the signs he intended on signaling with. “Simple and effective, does that work?”

“Sure, easy enough. I just want you to cross those fingers for now though, because we’ve got to hope that he shows his face at all.”

                Observant as he was, Leon already knew the general span of time that this particular canine chose to drop by and he seemed to stay fairly regular – normally coming through the door around three in the afternoon, give or take a few minutes. Today, however, 3:00pm came and went without hide nor hair of the devious animal. Ten minutes late stretched into thirty which stretched into a long hour of waiting, Lars’s beer glass was drank down to the last few drops and both of them were starting to feel antsy. Every time the door opened they jumped to attention but it was never who they wanted it to be. The last few glimmers of hope were fading with each false start but right before they’d decided to throw in the towel, their patience was heartily rewarded. Once more the door swung open and this time, a pair of heavy boots clunked onto the hardwood floorboards. There he was, adorned with the usual long black jacket with a messy, bluish-grey tail poking out from between the coattails. The left side of his head had an eye patch prominently strapped over it and two pointy canine ears stood above it all, completing the profile. At the very least, he fit the descriptors to a T.

                The rush of adrenaline as they saw him perked up the weary duo all over again like a fresh pot of coffee but they quickly suppressed their excitement, trying not to stand out from the rest of the crowd. Putting their idea into motion immediately would be far too suspicious, so out of the corner of their vision they chose to observe from a distance, letting him do what he needed to get settled in. One of Lars’s feet tapped against the ground as an outlet for his anticipation but Leon was far more in control of his nerves, touching knees with his brother to try and relax him. It was fortunate that he was the one going up to do that talking.

“That’s definitely who we’re looking for, I think.” Lars affirmed, having leaned over the table to contain his voice. They watched as the mysterious canid shuffled across the room and seated himself down at the usual barstool to order a drink. He had a bit more urgency to him than usual, body language hinting that he might be under a bit of stress. “That’s him, right?

“Mhm.” Leon hummed in agreement. A lot of thoughts were going through his mind, the things he intended on saying or doing, but he did his best to keep that to himself and stay level-headed. In silence the two waited, letting the new stranger get comfortable and have a cold pint glass placed down in front of him. After he’d had the time to take a drink or two, Leon came to the conclusion that the perfect moment for putting gears into motion was rapidly approaching. Without a word, the younger of the reptile brothers slid his chair back and stood up, adjusting his jacket.

“Hey, just… Make sure to be careful okay? If this is who we think it is, he’s definitely dangerous even if he doesn’t know who we are. You know what you’re going to say to him, right?”

“I do. And don’t worry. I’ll be extra careful, just for you.” With a playful, reassuring wink he was on his way, striding across the room to, hopefully, start a friendly liaison with the target. Like most of the others here the man was an anti-social looking animal, hunched over the counter top with his drink in his left hand and vision trained lazily towards the screen on the wall in front of him. There was some sports game playing but Leon didn’t know too much about sports, it was clear that the dog didn’t have much vested interest in it anyways. Perhaps he did need company after all and fortunate for him, company was one thing the chameleon would be happy to provide. Putting on a friendly face as he approached, he plopped his rump down on the empty barstool immediately to the scruffy canine’s left and rapped a finger on the counter.

“I’ll have what he’s having, hmm?” Leon spoke to the bartender, gesturing towards his new companion in hopes of taking the initiative to spark a conversation. The bartender nodded but the conversation he was hoping for took a while to ensue. It wasn’t until he realized that whoever this was sitting next to him wasn’t going to go away anytime soon that the dog opened his muzzle to speak.

“…If you have to sit by me, at least have the respect to sit on my right. You sitting over there is making me uncomfortable.” His voice was smoky and gruff, laced with a tone of impatience. This request initially struck Leon as odd before he realized what was meant by it, it was the eye. He’d been sitting on the same side as the man’s eyepatch, directly in what was presumed to be his blind spot. In a pub like this one it was certainly understandable how that could raise suspicion. Always quick in his compliance, the lithe chameleon stood up and crossed to the empty stool on the other side instead.

“Much better.” He spoke again but still didn’t avert his eyes away from the screen, his neutral expression seemed barely fazed by the unexpected intrusion. Closer now, Leon was able to get a much better look at the side of his face. A lot was done to hide it but underneath the matted fur and obfuscating clothing, he really was rather young. He had a lot of hair tossed every which way and his features were more rounded, yet to fully take on the sharp visage that a canid got later in life. Alongside that his right arm seemed to be held limp at his side the entire time he’d been here, not resting on the counter or anything like one normally would. This corroborated perfectly with the story that had been told of the yote’s shot connecting - if it was bandaged up then that was probably hidden away under the sleeve. Leon’s careful observations were interrupted as the bartender came back and placed a full glass down in front of him. The liquid contained inside was dark, dark with a frothy white foam crowning the top.

“Just because I’m half-blind doesn’t mean that I don’t see you staring at me from your little table over there every time I come in.” His words were startling, he was far more observant than he led himself on to be. “Does my presence somehow offend you? Or do you just like what you see?” It wasn’t apparent if that was meant as an insult or not.

“You just look lonely is all, I figured there’s no harm in coming over to keep you company, no?”

“Maybe I like being lonely.” The advance of friendliness was quickly shot down. This might be shaping up to be a tough nut to crack.

“I don’t believe that, nobody likes being lonely.” Leon pushed, “Perhaps you just haven’t found the right kind of company yet. I think I’m fantastic at providing it.”

“If you were you’d be able to tell that I’m not interested in whatever companionship you’ve got. So go back to your little corner and stay there, far away from me.” Harsh but fair. That might work on somebody less persistent but Leon wasn’t one to give in so easily. Outside of his intentions on digging for information this might pose quite the unique challenge as well.

“Do you know anybody here?”

“Do I need to?”

“Well, not necessarily. But it sounds to me like you need a friend. It’s important to have one of those someplace like this.”

“The only ‘friend’ that I need is the kind that’ll come back to my room with me and with your lizard kind I still can’t even tell if you’re a girl or not.” Not leaving much up for interpretation, that was a bit more direct of an insult. Or at least, to anybody not named Leon Powalski it might have been. Masculinity was a trait he admired in others but never prided himself on his own, comments such as those tended to slide right past him.

“Well, what do you want me to be then?” Leon followed up the taunt with a tease of his own, something he was more than good at. This made the dog cock his muzzle towards him curiously.

“Even if you were a chick, I’m not buying you that drink and I wouldn’t fuck you anyways. I don’t stick my dick in cold-blooded animals. Sorry.” It turns out that banter was one of his strong suits. It would almost sound like he were enjoying himself if it weren’t for the undertones of annoyance in his gravelly voice.

“Oh c’mon. You don’t have to be like that, I just want to talk.”

“Yeah? Talking’s all you want to do? Then go talk with your little friend over there, looks like you left him behind to watch.” With his left thumb he gestured back towards where Lars was sitting. This was the first time Leon had noticed the canine’s long, almost manicured looking claws. They’d been purposefully sharpened to a fine point. He played to his genus well.

“Hmph, I wouldn’t worry about him. He’s a bit of a drag. We’re… Not on speaking terms.”

                Whether or not the fib turned out to be believable ultimately didn’t matter because the conversation died immediately after anyways. Leon watched as the dog turned his head back towards the screen and downed another swig out of his pint. But no, that wasn’t enough. That wasn’t even close to as much as he wanted out of this. He wasn’t one to normally drink but in the spirit of his job, Leon figured that now would probably be a good time to try his own out. As he pulled the rim up to his face the smell of the stuff became overpowering, that plus the uninviting dark color of the brew didn’t bode well for his taste buds. But, forcing himself to push past those barriers, the chameleon managed to take a sip. To nobody’s surprise it was overwhelmingly bitter and hoppy, to the point where it was almost difficult to swallow for an uninitiated drinker. This might have been a mistake. Leon tried to suppress his reaction after drinking it down but his hesitation just made it worse and he ended up with his head down, sputtering out coughs over the counter.

“What? You don’t like it? You ordered it.” He hadn’t realized it but his reaction had caused a chuckle, the first time he’d been shown anything resembling emotion.

“No, no it’s not that. It’s just – it went down the wrong pipe is all.”

“You’re not much of a liar.” The wolf’s single eye was staring straight at the reptile in the seat next to him now, the chuckling stopped. His iris was blood red, a very uncommon trait to find. “Chug the whole thing then. Show me how much you like it.” After his first gulp the last thing Leon wanted now was even more of the bitter, vile drink that still coated the back of his throat but denying the request at this point wouldn’t get him anywhere, especially when it was spoken so seriously. Trepid uncertainty in his face, he stared down at the intimidating brew and then back over to the man seated next to him. Putting it off wasn’t going to make things any easier so before his thought could be allowed to cloud his actions, in one quick motion he grabbed the glass and gave it the old ‘bottoms up’.

                Now that he knew what to expect this time it started out easy enough, but after about a third of his beer had been drank it became more and more apparent that no amount of determination would be able to force his body to swallow the whole thing. The pungent beverage could be closest compared to sap in its bitterness, maybe to the more experienced drinker that would be okay but his sensitive stomach simply couldn’t handle this much at a time. Still over halfway full, the glass was slammed back down on the counter top as Leon stopped to gag on the taste, turning his head to cough as he clutched his chest. The dog couldn’t help but laugh again as he watched.

“Maybe you need something with more sugar in it next time.” There was residual foam on his chops from the last drink he’d taken, his wide, pink tongue licked it off between his words. “That seems like it’d be more your style.”

“What’re you- _*cough*_ trying to say?” Leon tried to form a coy reply but found it tough as he was still recovering.

“What I’m _trying_ to say is…” Interrupting his words, an object was suddenly and without warning prodded into the chameleon’s inner right thigh. It was sharp, jutting uncomfortably far into his leg meat, just far enough to where it wouldn’t cut. Not yet at least. Having been distracted he hadn’t noticed the canine’s left arm sneaking off of the bar top. This guy was good. “I know you’re up to something funny, playing with me like this. I’ll have you know that I’m not in the mood for your games.” Voice lowered so that nobody around them would be able to hear, each syllable came out almost as a growl. “Lucky for you I’ve grown to quite like this place. People keep to _themselves_ here. I’d hate to make a mess of you right here on the floor because then I wouldn’t be able to come back so drop the shit before we have trouble.”

                This was a sudden turn that Leon wasn’t expecting in the least, his heart fluttered in his chest as he swallowed the nervous lump that formed in his throat. Naught but thirty seconds ago it was just beginning to feel like the mood was lightening up, that maybe he was making a bit of progress here but that was all thrown out the window now. He breathed careful, steady breaths to try and keep his nerves about him. Pointed steel jutting into your femoral artery was enough to put anybody on the spot.

“…There’s nothing funny here. I swear it.”

“That’s another lie coming from your filthy mouth, because I see something funny sitting right next to me. Are you working for somebody?” That question cut straight to the point. Thinking it through, he supposed he was here on somebody else’s interests but he wasn’t exactly _sent_ and to say that he wasn’t driven by his own curiosity as well would be a bold-faced lie. After taking a moment for deliberation, Leon came to the conclusion that he’d been bested. Fessing up as honestly as he could would probably be the best decision he could make with his life on the line.

“Are you the same dog who attacked the FLAW warehouse two nights back?”

“You must have some hefty balls, asking a question like that with a knife to your groin.” The tip of it twisted just enough to grind in the point that he wasn’t here to play. “They sent you to find me then, huh?”

“No, well… Only in a manner of speaking did they send me.” The friendly voice he’d been putting on had been long since dropped. “It’s almost unbelievable how you did it, leaving a mess like that behind single-handedly. I don’t know who’s paying you but with talent like yours they should be paying you a lot more. Only shame is that witness you ended up leaving behind, I’ll bet that doesn’t happen very often, does it?”

“Is there a point to any of this talking? Or did you just come here to suck my dick for killing your friends?”

“Friends?” Leon scoffed at the notion. “Those beasts are hardly my friends. In fact, you might have opened up some opportunities for my brother and I yet. My point is that the witness got a good look at you and squealed, they all know what you look like now and went so far as to put a five figure bounty on your head. You might want to be watching your back, especially with your arm in such a shape.” This response was a curious one, definitely not something the accusatory canine was expecting. Steadfast in his conviction as he was, there was still a glimmer of confusion in his eye. “You shouldn’t need to worry about me though, my lips are sealed.”

“Not much loyalty in your kind, is there?”

“The only one I’m loyal to is him.” Leon spoke, making a nod towards his waiting sibling. “I’m just looking out for myself, much like you I’m sure. I stumbled upon your work and I was impressed by it, that’s why I’m here.”

“Hmph.” The pointed edge was retracted out of Leon’s lap and the barely-audible sound of whatever that was being sheathed again could be heard. The lupine took a hold on his beer all over again and casually imbibed just like when he’d first sat down. It was as if nothing ever happened between them. “Only a sick fool is impressed by blood. It’s just a necessity of business.”

“Well, perhaps that makes me a sick fool then.” Leon slid his own glass over, donating the rest of his drink as a goodwill gesture to somebody he hoped that no longer saw him as an enemy. With what he had to say now out in the air, his senses told him that it was time to leave before he overstayed his welcome. The chameleon’s curled, reptilian tail bobbed just slightly as he rose from his seat and made eye contact with the anticipatory Lars from across the room. After just a moment of hesitation, he made a subtle shake of his head. Three fingers held out at hip level.

 

The disappointment he saw take over his own family member’s face was nothing short of immeasurable.


	6. Chapter 6

“I can’t believe it, Leon. I just can’t.” The door to the Powalski’s apartment slammed shut behind the pair as Lars entered second to his younger sibling. He was fuming, the lush green normally found in his cheeks was flushed pale and his body language was far more animated than usual. “There’s just absolutely no way that he’s not our guy! Every single thing that we were told fits him like a glove, it’s too convenient! I mean look; he’s a dog, he’s only got the one eye, his tail is blue-grey with white at the end, he’s pretty tall… It just all fits - he’s even hanging out at the Vixen! You can’t tell me that alone isn’t sketchy enough!” His arms swung out wide in his disbelief. Their entire walk home had been uncharacteristically quiet, it was assumed that he might have just been moping at the loss of their lead but now it was apparent that he’d been holding back frustration until they were in privacy. “I just don’t understand how you can make a call like this.”

“Well it’s not him, Lars. That’s all I can really say, you just have to trust me on this one.” Like always, Leon was trying his hardest to remain resolute and not let the emotion of the situation take advantage of him. Putting his only remaining family member in such grief gave him no pleasure but he knew that backing down from this job was in their better interests. Whoever this mysterious young lupine was, he was a savant at his craft and he knew it. Not only did somebody with that caliber of budding skill not deserve to be put down by a bunch of bottom-feeders like themselves, Leon’s other fear was that if they tried to kill him, they’d end up getting hurt – or worse. After all neither of them were murderers; fighting wasn’t exactly their forte and the only real possession they owned that could be called a weapon was a knife. It was a nice knife, no doubt, but it was still just a simple knife.

“I don’t think you understand how big this opportunity is for us. This is possibly the luckiest we’ve ever been, in our entire _lives_. Do you have any idea what that kind of money could do for us? Not even to mention the respect we’d gain, at the very least there’ll be a promotion. Can you imagine? We wouldn’t have to scramble around with these bullshit jobs anymore!”

“I know that and I wish I had a different answer that I could give you, I really do.” Leon’s vibrantly colored chameleon head hung in shame but he still didn’t hesitate to double down on his lie, arms crossed in a protective manner.

“I just can’t accept that as an answer, not with everything else that I’ve seen. You’re not even putting up a very good argument. Go ahead and go over it all again for me, why _exactly_ do you think we got the wrong mutt?”

“…It was a lot of things.” He had to take a moment to consider a list of ambiguous, non-physical qualities that might have been noticed in their limited interaction. “His demeanor, the way he talked… I agree with you that he looks a lot like the description but that’s not who we’re after. He’s a dead end.” The elder stepped in close and took his brother’s chin between two gentle fingers, angling his face up so they could look into each other’s eyes. Watching his sibling’s anxious struggling for reasoning made Lars come to the realization that there might be something a bit more serious afoot, this behavior was far from anything normal.

“Did he threaten you, Leon? Us? I saw his little gesture over towards me, is that what this is all about? He scared you?” His voice was serious now, irises quivering as he stared. “Please, just be honest with me. If he made a threat at you then I should be the first to know. Remember that we’re in this together, like always.” The younger sibling’s hesitation was apparent. He momentarily refrained from speaking as they locked gazes with each other, the creeping tendrils of doubt that he wasn’t going about this the right way starting to crawl through him. Regardless, it was too late to go back now.

“No, it’s not like that. He didn’t threaten me or you or anybody really… He was just… Kind of a nice animal. We talked for minute or two before I asked about his job, he’s just a salaryman Lars. Sure he’s got a gruff appearance and might have ended up on the wrong side of town, but it sounds to me like that’s all just coincidental.” Intently, Lars stared into his face to try and read the subtleties in his expression. They’d been together for so long that doing so wasn’t exactly hard anymore.

“…Are you being dishonest with me?” His low, quiet voice drove the intensity of the accusation.

“I’m an open book, you know that. Have I ever been dishonest with you before?”

“Not since you were a kid. I can tell that you’re lying about something now though, you know how bad of a liar you are.”

“I don’t know what else I can tell you, Lars. I don’t have any reasons to lie about something like this. I want that bounty as badly as you do but if we kill this stranger, we’ve got a body on our hands and nothing to show for it.” Fraught with distrust, the elder of the two shook his head and let out an audible sigh. That wasn’t the answer that he wanted to hear. He turned his back and crossed over to the far side of their apartment, pulling the knife out of his pocket and obsessively beginning to flick the blade in and out. Like always, their room was kept dark but he could still see his face reflected in the protruding steel.

“I just can’t shake the feeling that there’s something fishy going on with you.” He mused out loud. “There’s just… There’s something wrong.”

“What’re you going to do with that?” Leon asked, attention focused on the blade in Lars’s hand. Without addressing the question his brother just folded it closed and stuffed it back into his pants.

“Do you love me, Leon?” He asked, turning his head to speak back over his shoulder.

“I think I’ve proven to you how much I love you.”

“Alright. Now here’s the harder question; do you _trust_ me?”

“…I trust you.” Unlike the last, it took a moment for him to force this answer out. In a way it was the truth, but at the same time he knew how volatile Lars could be and how desperate he’d been to prove his worth after all of the recent slip-ups. If he was aware that Leon was doubting his abilities again, amongst other things, it wouldn’t be pretty.

“Okay, we’re getting somewhere. Now, this is the last time I’m going to ask you; are you telling me the truth right now? There’s no doubt in your mind that the dog we saw tonight was the wrong mutt?” Approaching this point it was tough for Leon to tell what was going to cause a bigger rift between them, keeping his thoughts a secret or just spilling out the truth. Even despite his doubt at their capabilities, being enamored with that mutt’s particular kind of ‘work’ was one of the most degenerative things he’d ever felt. But he couldn’t help it.

“If you’d spoken to him, you would feel the same that I do. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s not who we want.” This time his dishonesty was spoken with true conviction, almost as if he was trying to believe his own words. Leon knew this had to be put an end to before it escalated further. “I know you’re disappointed but I am too, we’re on the same side here. The only thing we can do is move on and figure out what our next step is going to be.”

                It pained to lie like this but from behind his pale blue eyes it was seen as a necessity, the uncomfortably large pill that you didn’t want to swallow but had to in order to get better. This final response must have really hit somewhere that hurt because Lars was rendered completely unresponsive, back still turned with his shoulders wilted and head hanging solemnly. The elder wanted to speak but he couldn’t really conjure up the words to. His sharp reptile senses were screaming at him that something here was just wasn’t right but it was clearer than ever that he’d been completely left out in the dark. Normally so close together that they could almost be mistaken for the same chameleon, this was the first time in years that he’d felt so distant from the only animal he could call family. He was so lost in his own thoughts he almost didn’t notice the pair of lithe arms gradually, hesitantly crawling around his waist from behind, making a timid yet soft embrace.

“I’m sorry.” He was spoken to, “You’re not the only one hurting because of this.”

“Something’s telling me that’s not the case, Leon. We were banking on this and now I have no idea how to make ends meet anymore. I just can’t keep this up, I’m just… I’m exhausted. What on Venom are we going to do now?” It was tough to suppress the guilt Leon felt as he heard these tired words but he had his morals and he had to stick with them. Maybe there’d be another way he could lighten the mood because there wasn’t a reason to spend their night so dour, even with this conflict lingering in the air like a dark cloud.

“I’ll show you what we’re going to do now.” Leon took some initiative to try and pivot the subject away from everything that had happened today, his words had a subtle sultry uptone to them. “I think we need to just relax for a bit and let everything process. Besides, aren’t you a bit cold? I am.” He didn’t get a response to this but also wasn’t expecting one either. They were a cold-blooded kind so a bit of physical closeness was practically built into their genes and Leon liked to play on that to try and push the boundaries whenever possible. He gave Lars a smooch on the side of his jaw before stepping back away from him. “C’mon, get comfortable with me. It’ll be fun.”

                Taking the first steps towards bridging the connection back between them, the younger brother sat his tailend down on the edge of their bed and started working his tightly-fitted boots off of himself. They were always just a bit of a hassle to remove but with a little perseverance and dexterity his three-pronged reptile feet were freed and the shoes were neatly placed on the bedside. Next came his belt, pants, shirt, undershirt… All the way until he was down to just his skivvies with a small pile of neatly folded clothing left atop their shared nightstand, green scales exposed and tiny sharp teeth smiling up at his ever-endeared sibling. Even though Lars was still caught up in the whirlwind of emotion he’d been feeling, not even in this state did he have the heart to deny such a pretty face.

                Even though he still wasn’t interested in conversing further the elder at least complied, following his brother’s lead by taking the next few minutes to dress himself down; following the same order of shoes, belt, pants until he’d stripped to his underwear as well. Having shared the same parents and all they belonged to same sub-species but with both of their bodies out in the open like this, the differences between the two became apparent. Where Lars had a taller, bulkier and generally manlier build to him Leon was small, slender and skinny – his effeminacy betrayed only by his more traditionally masculine voice. If he stayed quiet and wore the right clothing, it wouldn’t be unheard of for a layman to mistake him for the opposite gender on the right day. This kind of quality was so unique that even his own brother, admittedly, couldn’t help but feel a certain degree of appeal towards it.

                The younger of the two wrapped his well-balanced, prehensile tail around the other’s leg as he simultaneously gave his arm a gentle tug, wordlessly trying to coax him to relax down in bed with him. Upset or no, the allure was cute enough to work. Lars did as was instructed and slid his rear down onto the mattress. That was a good start. Happy that he was being worked with, Leon pushed their heavy blankets aside for the moment and placed a gentle-but-commanding hand on Lars’s bare chest. He applied pressure to direct him to scooch backwards and lie down, all the way until his head was firmly rested on their small assortment of pillows.

“There you go.” The tender chameleon spoke as he pulled their sheets back over them, covering the pair with blankets with the intent on snuggling up nice and close. Neither of them with the ability to generate their own body heat and needing to source it from the environment around them, cuddling like this wasn’t exactly unheard of, but like it always went with him Leon was far more intimate about things than would normally be acceptable. Despite the secrecy of his motives and the lies driving his words, at the end of the day he still loved Lars and not just because they were related; he was also his only friend and his only partner, the only source of motivation that he had in life to keep fighting the fight. Without him he’d be almost completely directionless, a frightening thought for someone only twenty four years of age.

Lingering suspiciously closer to showing his affection than he was to sharing his valuable warmth Leon scooted his bare, firm body up against his brother’s and proceeded to rub the crown of his head into the elder’s chest. Concealed away under the covers, he made the most of their proximity by draping a leg over him and wrapping an arm lovingly around his midsection as well, his bandaged up three-fingered hand clinging like it was so good at doing. Throughout this display Lars remained quiet and stoic, he knew he was being buttered up and the fact that something important was being hidden from him was self-evident, but for now at least the physical sensation of being wanted did feel nice. He loosely hung an arm around his overly affectionate sibling’s back, the immediate stressors that had been plaguing his mind pushed off to the side, if only temporarily. Gradually he could feel his emotions subside, hot temper clouded up by the innate, primal reaction to being loved on by his sole remaining family member.

                No more words needed to be exchanged between the pair as the quieted down and enjoyed what little time was left of their evening, bringing just a touch of happiness back into their relationship – if only just for this moment. The stressors of tomorrow could wait until tomorrow and even though he wasn’t planning on it quite just yet, Leon couldn’t help but let himself slowly drift off to sleep as he listened to the steady lullaby of Lars’s beating heart.

 

No matter the comfort, however, it wasn’t enough to stop last night’s dream from racking his mind all over again.

 

                Long after the night had turned its darkest the young Powalski was jostled awake in a state of panic, suddenly lurching upright and tossing the covers aside while making a noise resembling a gasp for air. To his surprise he was still at home, the same place he’d fallen asleep and in the same bed he awoke in every morning but in his mind, he still had the fresh, vivid images of his dream. More slaughter and not just witnessing it - committing it. As if somewhere deep inside of himself he knew that if that massacre in the warehouse was possible and someone out there was paying for work like that, then with a little bit of talent and training his sharp mind could have been the one that’d done it. One’s natural reaction to such horrifying imagery should be repugnance but in a sickly satisfying way, Leon found that it almost felt _good_. Looking around now he realized that he must have been squirming for a while, the pillows were in disarray and the bed cover was all wrinkled up. But that wasn’t all… Something else was out of the ordinary too. With his sleep addled brain it took a second to put two and two together, but then he realized… Lars wasn’t lying next to him anymore.

                Swiveling his head he quickly scanned the area but his brother was nowhere to be seen; not in the bed, not in the bathroom or in the apartment in general. Adding to that, the clothing he’d taken off earlier was gone and the elder’s jacket wasn’t hung anymore either. A sinking feeling of dread slowly crept down through Leon’s body as the realization as to what had happened became more and more apparent. This wasn’t right, they never went anywhere without each other. Not just because of the companionship but safety too. There was no doubt, he must have gone to try and confront the one-eyed dog.

                With no further hesitation Leon rocketed out of bed, tossing what remained of the bedding aside and clothing himself up again. Maybe if he was quick it wouldn’t be too late, he might be able to stop this. Now it was about far more than the respect he had for that canine’s work. It was life or death.


	7. Chapter 7

                 Nothing else mattered right now except for Lars. Every single neuron in the young chameleon’s brain was firing off, blocking out anything not contributing to finding his brother and commanding him off into the night. The outside sky was pitch black, to the point where without the vibrant street signs lighting the way one would hardly be able to see. He pushed through the pedestrians who were still out and about, refusing to let any crowd get in his way as his high-top boots pounded down on the sidewalk over and over, sprinting in the direction of the Brazen Vixen. Who knows at what point Lars had left during the night and if he’d set out to do what Leon thought he might have, then it could already be too late.

“ _LARS!_ ” The skinny, panicked reptile shouted at the top of his lungs. It wasn’t until now that he realized how complicated and poorly lit the city blocks were; the streets twisted and turned into convoluted masses hardly able to be differentiated from one another, there were a nigh infinite amount of places somebody could be hiding and too many side roads to count. He got weird looks from others as he raced by helplessly crying out his brother’s name, but their opinion was irrelevant here. None of them knew the kind of fear that he was feeling. Not once did he pause to catch his breath as he sprinted through NuVenom at full stride, adrenaline pumping through his body and keeping it going far past the point where he should have stopped. It wasn’t until he’d rounded the final turn into the alleyway their bar was on that he finally slowed down, taking just a moment to slump over against the brick wall and pant before he burst in. Something which proved to be a good idea because in those few seconds that he recovered, he just so happened to notice something standing out of place.

                A shadow on the far end of the dark alley; at first glance it could be mistaken alongside any of the rest of the debris but with careful consideration and a second glance, one would be able to make out the barely visible silhouette of somebody trying to stay out of sight, partially obfuscated behind a collection of trash bins. Leon stared up at it as he huffed air in and out of his raspy throat, deciding if this was just a hallucination or not. If his mind was just playing a trick on him then it was doing a good job because whatever this was, it appeared to be holding something in its hand that it was staring at with great intent. Leon collected himself, standing upright again.

“LARS? IS THAT YOU?!” He’d been shouting so much that it pained him to do so again but it seemed that his perseverance was to be rewarded. To his surprise, the figure perked up and cocked their head in his direction.

“What the- Leon? Oh c’mon, get out of here! What the hell are you doing following me?!” That was all that he needed to hear, the annoyed sound of his older brother’s voice forced a renewed surge of energy back into Leon’s exerted muscles. So it wasn’t too late after all.

“Following you? _Following you_?! What do you think you’re trying to do here?!” He pressed as he promptly ran over to meet him, unsure if he was supposed to be feeling elation that he’d shown up on time or disbelief that he was actually being asked a question like that. He was able to see better as his eyes adjusted to the dim light and the intensity in Lars’s face was more apparent now than ever. The item he was holding in his hand was, predictably, his knife; steel blade unfolded and the only thing that shone brightly. It wasn’t hard to do the math of what he intended to do with it.

“It’s none of your business and you need to get the hell out of here. Go back to the apartment!”

“You couldn’t have made your intentions any more obvious.” Leon made a grab for the blade but Lars quickly pulled it back out of his reach. “If you think I’m letting you kill somebody then you’re insane.”

“I wasn’t looking for your _permission_.” He let out a surprising little hiss, stepping forwards to get directly in his brother’s personal space. They were so close now they were almost touching heads. “I’m doing it for you, Leon. For US.”

“Have you even begun to think this all of the way through? Whatever it is that you have planned, it’s not going to work. There’s no way that you’re going to end up on top against somebody with training like him, you’re just going to get yourself hurt.” Lars scoffed, quick to dismiss the idea.

“I checked, he’s still inside. All I have to do is jump him when he comes out. He’s been in there for hours, Leon. The mutt’s probably drunk as a skunk and there’s no way he’s going to see me coming. This opportunity is mine and I’m not going to let somebody else, much less YOU, take it from me.”

                This wasn’t the first time the pair had come to conflict about something but it was never anything this serious. The ferocity in his brother’s eyes proved that he really meant and believed everything that he’d said, to anybody else this might testify to his confidence but family can’t hide from family. Leon knew that tucked away underneath this façade was a fragile chameleon’s broken ego, doing whatever it could to try and repair itself. This was all nonsense and it was apparent that deep down even Lars was well aware that going through with it wasn’t a good idea. He grabbed his older sibling by the breast of his jacket, staring up into him with matching intensity. There had to be a way to get through to him somehow.

“The only way you’re going to kill him is if you kill me first. Now give. Me. The knife.”

“Back down, Leon. I’m your older brother, I’m the one who takes care of you and I won’t let you push me around. I’m the one in charge and you’ll do what I tell you to. So go home. Right now.”

“I’m not going anywhere unless you’re coming with me.” Leon’s grip on his coat tightened, drilling in the fact that he wasn’t playing around either.

“JUST FUCK OFF!” A sudden outcry of emotion as Lars lashed out at his younger sibling for the first time in his life, pushing him off of him with all of his force and causing the poor boy to tumble backwards onto his rear. Leon let out a yelp as he hit the pavement, incapacitated both by pain and astonishment. All of the arguments that they’ve had in their lives and not once had it ever escalated to this point, his brother’s strength actually surprised him. From the other perspective Lars wasn’t the least bit proud of what he’d done but he hoped that at the very least it worked to send the message.

“So… That’s just how it’s going to be then?” Leon’s voice was dour as he picked himself up off of the ground, using his palms to help scamper back up to his feet. He had a grim look in his eyes as he stared his brother up, assessing what his next course of action would be. He’d never thought he’d be in this kind of fight with Lars before, the idea hadn’t even crossed his mind. With no plan laid out, he would have to improvise somehow and without a hint of hesitation Leon lunged back in, going straight to try and disarm him for a second time.

                Lars was caught by surprise now; he couldn’t retract his arm back before his wrist had been apprehended, immediately thrusting the pair into a frenzy of a struggle - one trying his hardest to get away while the other clung to him, wrenching at his fingers in hopes of getting him to drop his knife. It was an uncontrollable frenzy of limbs as they fought each other and before long an unexpected elbow accidentally caught Leon square on the jaw, he whimpered and fell backwards onto the pavement all over again. Lars’s demeanor changed in an instant as the pang of guilt for what he’d done shot through him, he’d never intentionally hit his own baby brother like that. His paternal instincts kicked in as he knelt down to try and get a better look, there was already blood starting to well up from the fresh new cut on Leon’s face.

“Oh no, Leon are you-?” He started to voice his concern but before the thought had been finished it was interrupted by a shockingly loud hiss, immediately followed up by a left-handed strike across the exposed side of Lars’s cheek. His larger size meant that he wasn’t quite so easy to take down but the shock of the action alone still caused him to stumble off-kilter. Leon didn’t have the body type to be a striker but his boney little knuckles still hurt something fierce when they were put into action. Before he could even begin to process what’d happened a second punch hammered down on the same side of his face again, this time it was just enough to lay him out flat on his back.

                The folding knife flung through the air and skidded a couple feet across the concrete. With the way he’d fallen it didn’t take much for Lars to scramble over and lay claim to it again but as soon as he had, Leon was right there on top of him. The younger chameleon mounted him, straddling his hips with his knees to keep himself steady as his hands gripped at whatever loose clothing they could get a hold on. This was a far cry from the calm, calculated demeanor he normally had.

“Just give it up!” Leon shouted as he held him against the hard ground, “Give it up so we can go home!” Lars grimaced as he tried his hardest to control the situation with 110lb of chameleon sitting on his chest. He was in too deep now to give in and besides what he was here for was about much more than just the money. Being the larger of the two, dominating him shouldn’t have been much of a problem but the little reptile was incredibly persistent. With a bit of persistence of his own, however, he managed to get a knee positioned up in between Leon’s legs, his free hand balled up around the collar of his shirt and tails gripping each other intertwined.

“GET OFF OF ME!” Lars shouted from between straining teeth and in a prepared feat of strength, used his positioning to toss the chameleon off to the side, rolling the pair of them over to switch their positions. Now Lars was the one in control and with his extra weight, there wasn’t a chance that Leon was going anywhere. His forearm barred across his brother’s chest to hold him against the ground while his free hand grabbed one of his wrists and pinned it above his head, ensuring that no matter his efforts he wouldn’t be able to wriggle free. His younger counterpart wasn’t much of a striker and was even less of a grappler; but it’d be wrong to say that he didn’t have a lot of passion because despite his obvious defeat he still squirmed and kicked, resisting in whatever way he could. It’d only be a matter of time now until he wore himself out.

“Leon, stop this insanity.” Lars commanded. Now that he had the upper hand his voice echoed his renewed confidence. “You need to go home and get back in bed, I don’t need your help here.”

“Please! I just want to save you!” Leon pleaded, “There’s no way around it, if you go through with this he’s going to kill you! What you’re trying to do is suicide!”

“I know that you don’t trust me, but you have no other choice now. With or without your support, I’m going to kill him and take that bounty. Believe it or not I want to make a better life for us, this is just the first step.” Leon could feel fatigue crawling through him as the adrenaline subsided. His chest was heaving now, heart pounding a mile a minute.

“Please… Please don’t do this. Let’s talk about it.”

“I’m done talking, I’ve made a decision and I’m going to stick to it.” Lars loomed over his squirming sibling and stared deep into his eyes, an uncharacteristically stoic look on his face. He watched as Leon had worn himself out, there was still a lingering of wild conviction in the boy but any energy he had to act on it appeared to be long gone. The green scales on his cheek were accentuated by a smear of blood spread from the accidental elbow strike. “Here’s what’s going to happen: I’m going to get up now and turn my back. You’re going to walk to the apartment, get comfortable and go back to bed. By the time you’ve woken up tomorrow we’ll be rich and I’ll have a hot meal ready and waiting for you. Okay?” Leon took his time to respond, staring back into Lars as he panted out hot breaths the lingered in the cold night air. A few moments of consideration passed before he finally gave a subtle nod of his head, Lars seemed to believe it. “Good, I’m glad that we’re finally understanding each other.” There was a hint of friendly elation behind his words. Following through on the first half of his promise he let go of his brother’s wrist and stood up, offering a hand down to help him off the ground. “You know that I love you.”

                Leon accepted the gesture and let himself be hoisted back up to his feet. He was physically exhausted though and didn’t stay upright for long, doubling over with his hands on his knees so that he could catch his breath. The determined reptile still had a flame of a rebellion burning somewhere deep inside of him but their wrestling had worn him down to his last legs. Acting in good faith, Lars rubbed his brother on the shoulder before turning his tail and walking back to where he’d been waiting before their whole conflict before. But Leon had no intention of giving in so easily.

“RAAGHH!!” He shouted to rally up the last of his energy and harnessed it into the heaviest tackle that he could muster, knocking both of them right back down into the pavement. Taken by surprise, Lars wasn’t quite so ready for it this time and while the grip on his knife held strong, the hand it was in was quickly apprehended. The elder brother found himself in a much more compromised position now; during the tackle his arm had incidentally been twisted around so that the blade was being held downwards, the glimmering tip angled straight at his neckline. Directly on his chest sat Leon, pressing his advantage to wrap his hands around Lars’s fingers, trying to wrench his weapon free so that he could take it.

All four of their hands came together to form a busy mass as each tussled against the other and the more that they wrestled for control the more apparent it became to Lars that he wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long. With his brother’s height and leverage over him he was able to put significantly more muscle into it, Lars was decently strong but his grip wouldn’t be able to hold forever.

“ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GIVE IT HERE!” The younger Powalski shouted in between strained grunts. Whatever shreds of pride Lars harbored were unyielding but with the dangerously sharp knife being jerked around just a few inches above him, he started to entertain the notion of giving in rather than risking an accident more serious than the last one.

“L-Leon be careful-” He voiced his concern but his younger sibling was too swept away in the heat of the moment to be thinking very clearly. In fact, the two had tunneled in so hard on each other that their attention to their surroundings had long since fallen by the wayside. Neither had noticed the door to the Brazen Vixen as it opened and closed just a few meters away, nor did they notice the pair of heavy boots as they slowly, one after the other, headed towards where they were having their squabble.

                It was impossible to tell how long they’d been watched for but apparently it was long enough. Without a word one of the boots wedged up in between the two boys and its rubberized, textured sole placed itself firmly atop their writhing mass of fingers. Then, in one decisive move, it stepped all of the way down as hard as it could. Together the sibling’s hands were forced lower and lower but before either of them realized what was going on, it was already too late. The blade of the knife had parted the scales and was lodged firmly in the center of Lars’s neck.

                Squeals of pain that could only be described as horrific echoed between the brick walls as inescapable agony dominated every sense that Lars could feel. He winced as his panic reflexes took over his actions and he desperately grabbed at his assailant’s foot to try and free himself from under it, but any and all efforts proved to be completely fruitless. The man was simply too strong. The noises he was making devolved into sickening coughs and gurgles as Lars’s esophagus became flooded with his own blood, sending flecks of red spattering all over his and his brother’s faces. He couldn’t breathe, suffocating as he simultaneously bled all over his clothing while drowning in his own mess.

                Left completely shell-shocked Leon jolted upright and took a frightened step away, any flame of conviction that was in his eyes was long extinguished, replaced instead by a look of sheer horror. His heart felt like it had stopped in place as he watched his hapless brother bleeding and writhing on the ground. Above him stood none other than the exact individual he expected it to be, the eyepatch-clad wolf from the bar. Insultingly, the canine looked almost bored by the display unfolding before him. His hands were stuffed into his pockets as he watched the reptile dying under his foot with disinterest.

                Leon shouted something, or… He intended to at least. Words, actions, none of them would come out as his muscles refused to cooperate with him, he was frozen completely solid – fated to the role of observer as he watched the final moments of his only family’s life trickle away. Lars kicked, thrashed and did whatever he could but his energy was fleeting as the puddle around him grew. The finality of his situation was finally beginning to seep in. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t move and he didn’t have the breath to say anything that he wanted to say, it was completely hopeless. Gradually his struggling reduced to the point where he couldn’t keep his grip on the boot pinning him to the floor and his arms fell off to the side, tensing and spasming in an unpredictable nature. His usually-curled tail was laid out completely straight as he twitched in his final throes of pain. Even he knew he was running out of time, curtains closing down over his vision. As his final action, he turned his head over to Leon. There was so much to say, so much to tell him… But he couldn’t.

And just like that, that was the end of it. Their lifetime spent together, their history and everything they’d gone through as family reduced to naught more than memories in an instant. All of the nights spent in each other’s arms, serving as the only source for what little happiness and motivation they were able to find in life, nothing now. Lars was gone and with him, any semblances of Leon’s humanity was gone as well.

“Consider it thanks for the heads up earlier.” The last thing he wanted to hear right now were words but the dog still had the audacity to speak. As soon as he was confident that the chameleon had died he took his foot off of the hilt of the knife and scuffed his bloodied up sole against the ground, trying to wipe off what he could. “What’s wrong? You look like you seen a ghost just now. You were trying to kill him, weren’t you? That’s what it looked like at least.” Leon fell to his knees with his hands out in front of him in astonishment, breathing short, panicked huffs. All of the luscious color had left his scales leaving him pale, shivering and frightened.

 

“Well now that we’ve got a body on our hands we might as well exchange names. My name’s Wolf. Wolf O’Donnell. I don’t trust many with that knowledge so don’t let me down.”


End file.
